Another Day at TSA
by FloatYourBoat21
Summary: While working another early Friday morning at the airport, Nicole's day instantly brightens up when she meets a beautiful passenger (Waverly) with hair for days and a smile that could light up any room. Could this possibly be a meet cute for these two lovely ladies? Find out in this WayHaught AU!
1. That Smile

As Nicole mindlessly taps her pen against the podium, humming that same song that's been stuck in her head for the past hour, she looks out into the lobby to see more bodies trickling in.

It seemed to be another typical Friday morning at the Tucson International Airport. And while things appeared to be rather slow right now, Nicole knew it was only a matter of time before the checkpoint got super busy.

* * *

In the past 8 months that Nicole had worked at the airport as a Transportation Security Officer, she had gotten accustomed to waking up at 3 in the morning to get ready for work, while the rest of the world was sound asleep in their comfy beds (or still out partying, depending on the day of the week). She got used to the number of countless friends from college that loss touch because she was 'too busy' to go out and get a drink with them.

It's not that Nicole didn't want to go out and catch up with old friends; her schedule just didn't allow her to.

Being the responsible adult that she was, Nicole usually went to bed around 9 PM; 10 at the latest. She had a very important job and making sure that she allowed her body to get enough rest was a crucial part of that. Because she worked the weekends (with her off days being in the middle of the week), that meant that Nicole wasn't able to just go out and drink the night away like she may have done back in her collegiate days.

And to be honest, she didn't really mind it that much.

Sure... her old college friends were used to the old Nicole that was the life of the party and stuck out like a sore thumb because of her height and ginger hair; but... people change. People grow up and more important things than having a hangover after a night of too much drinking take priority.

Nicole had a good, steady federal job now; she's was doing something with her life.

So, if that meant that her 'friends' got all pissy when she constantly told them that she couldn't go out with them on the weekends... then maybe they weren't such great friends after all.

And for the very few friends that actually understood and made time to hang out with Nicole when _both_ of their schedules allowed it... Nicole felt that that was all she needed.

* * *

As the next few minutes pass, the queue starts to fill up as more passengers make their way through the zigzag of stanchions.

Since Nicole was working on the TSA Pre-check lane and had less passengers to deal with at the moment, she decided to help check-in passengers from the standard lane. It's something she would've done anyways while her line was pretty much non-existent, but Lonnie seemed to be moving slower than a snail, so she decided to offer her assistance before her co-worker got overwhelmed with all of the restless passengers.

After helping Lonnie out for a solid five minutes, Nicole noticed that there were finally some people approaching the Pre-check lane. After finishing up with the last standard passenger, Nicole looked up to greet the next person... and that's when she felt it.

As her breath got caught in her throat, Nicole could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears at lightning speed as she laid eyes on the beautiful brunette standing 10 feet away. For it to be a little after five in the morning, this woman had the most radiant smile on her face as she patiently waited to be called up to the podium.

With her high-waisted jeans, cute top, and long wavy hair perfectly framing her face, Nicole was absolutely mesmerized by the goddess in front of her.

 _Oh, right... she's waiting for you, dumbass! Stop staring at the pretty lady and do your job!_ The redhead internally berates herself.

"N-Next..." Nicole stutters out hopelessly. She then takes a moment to gather herself before deciding to open her mouth again. "Good morning, ma'am."

As the brunette walks up to the podium, she hands Nicole her boarding pass and driver's license, still smiling like a bright ray of sunshine.

"Hi! How's your morning going so far?" The brunette happily asks.

 _Of course her voice sounds like an angel_ , Nicole thinks to herself.

"It's not bad so far," the redhead manages to say more smoothly with a smile of her own. "How 'bout yours?"

"It's great!" She replies enthusiastically. "I don't get to travel a lot, so it's nice to get away for a little bit."

As Nicole nods along, she can't help but smile a little wider at the brunette, revealing her cute dimples. The positive energy radiating off from this woman was just so contagious.

"I bet..." Nicole says as she looks at the destination on the boarding pass. "Plus, you're going to Florida so I'm sure it will be nice to go to the beach and relax."

"We'll see... we're going for a wedding, so I don't know how much 'relaxing' we'll actually be able to do," the brunette says jokingly.

Nicole then looks behind the very intriguing woman to glance at the blonde whom was next in line.

"Is she traveling with you?" Nicole questions, trying her best not to get lost in the brunette's hazel eyes.

The brunette then looks back at the woman in question, throwing a thumb over her shoulder.

"Who, Chrissy?"

Nicole nods her head.

"I _guess_... I mean, she did give me a ride here. But I haven't been able to shake her since," she says playfully, making Nicole laugh.

"Come on up, ma'am," Nicole says as she waves the blonde forward.

"Geez, Waves! Thanks for leaving me back there," Chrissy says with mock annoyance. "I thought you forgot all about me."

Chrissy then looks to Nicole.

"Morning, Officer..." she begins to greet the redhead before pausing, studying the name plate attached to the right breast pocket of Nicole's uniform. "Is it Haught?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"That's an interesting last name. Very fitting too," Chrissy causally adds in.

"Chrissy!" The brunette berates her friend underneath her breath.

"What? You were thinking the same thing too," Chrissy replies, unapologetically.

A tint of pink starts to color the brunette's cheeks as she looks away from Nicole and mean-mugs her friend.

As Nicole glances back to her line, she sees that it's beginning to fill up. She had been so occupied with chit-chatting with the lovely woman in front of her that she didn't realize the increasing number of passengers gathering in her lane.

"I should check you out... _in_!" Nicole quickly corrects herself, becoming slightly flustered.

She was making a complete fool out of herself and she didn't know how to stop.

 _Soooo not professional_ , the redhead says to herself.

"In... I meant, I should check you _in_ so you can be on your way," Nicole is finally able to say without tripping over her words.

As she checks off the brunette's name, the date, the airport code, and circles the gate number on the boarding pass, she scans it and sees the green light, telling her that the brunette is all set to head to the next part of the checkpoint.

"You have a really pretty name, _Waverly_..." Nicole softly says, testing the name out on her tongue as she hands the boarding pass and driver's license back to the brunette.

As their fingers briefly touch, Nicole wonders if the jolt of electrify she felt was for real or all in her head. She also wonders if Waverly felt it too.

Waverly bashfully smiles and ducks her head, whispering a quick 'thank you' before stepping aside so that Nicole could check Chrissy in. Once the redhead completes the same process, she looks at both of the women and tells them that she hopes they have a safe flight.

"Have a good day," is the last thing Nicole hears Waverly say before she and Chrissy make their way towards the conveyor belt to put their property through the x-ray.

After a deep breath, Nicole regains her focus and calls the next passenger up.

For now, she would have to try and forget about the beautiful angel she just met, knowing there was a slim chance that she would ever see her again.

As much as Nicole would've loved to talk to Waverly longer or ask for her number, she didn't. Now was not the time and this was definitely not the place for such an interaction.

Sometimes it really sucked being responsible and the ever consummate professional.

* * *

After about 15 minutes had passed, Nicole was relieved from the TDC (Travel Document Checker) position and went directly to the DO (Divestiture Officer) position. For the next 30 minutes, she constantly reminded the passengers on the Pre-check lane that they could leave everything inside of their bags and leave their shoes on, as long as they didn't alarm, etc...

Once she was relieved from that position, Nicole checks the rotation sheet and sees that it's time for her first break. In desperate need for some caffeine, the redhead sets her eyes towards the food court where the Starbucks sign is calling her name.

As Nicole takes a few brisk strides towards her destination, she stops dead in her tracks when she hears someone yell out 'Cole!'

Looking around, Nicole spots her friend Jeremy sitting at the Exit, monitoring the passengers and making sure none of them try to re-enter after they exit the sterile portion of the airport.

"What's up, Jeremy?" Nicole asks as she redirects her path of travel.

"Are you busy right now?" The Indian man asks, slightly squirming in his seat.

"Uh... I was about to take my 15," Nicole slowly says as she studies the man's strange behavior. "Jeremy... do you need to use the restroom?"

"God yes!" Jeremy exclaims. "I had some chili cheese fries that are _not_ agreeing with me right now. Would you mind watching the Exit for a few minutes before I combust?"

Laughing lightly, Nicole nods her head and reaches her hand out for the two-way radio attached to Jeremy's belt.

"Thanks, Cole! You're the best!" Jeremy yells out as he bolts towards the restroom.

Shaking her head humorously, Nicole takes Jeremy's seat and watches the Exit.

After a minute or so goes by, Nicole feels someone approaching her from her left side (where the food court is located). As she turns her head, she's pleasantly surprised (and shocked) to see Waverly.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Nicole, Waverly had been affected by their short interaction just as much as the redhead had been.

Once she and Chrissy had made it through security, they found a table in the food court area and sat down, trying to decide what they wanted to eat for breakfast. Their flight didn't start boarding for another hour so they had plenty of time to kill.

While they sat there, Chrissy endlessly teased Waverly about the 'Haught' TSA officer that the brunette was _clearly_ into, judging by the way her cheeks flushed every time her name was mentioned.

It had been a while since Waverly had dated anyone. Given the way her last relationship ended, Chrissy understood her best friend's reluctance to put herself out there again. Waverly was shy and a total nerd, but she had so much to offer. She had a heart of gold and deserved to have someone special in her life.

So when Chrissy saw a flash of red hair in the general vicinity, she decided to give her best friend a little _encouragement_.

"Look... you're Waverly freakin' Earp!" Chrissy says, starting her little pep talk. "You are the strongest and probably smartest woman I know."

Waverly looks away bashfully, never one to be good at taking compliments.

Chrissy then grabs her hand that was resting on the table to get her attention.

"I know that your ex screwed you up really bad and made you afraid to trust anyone new that comes into your life, but you can't let him win," the blonde continues on. "Over there is a chance for you to seize the moment; see what happens."

As Waverly looks to where her friend was pointing, her eyes widen as they land on the officer that had stolen her thoughts since their first contact. She then looks back at Chrissy, whom is looking at her expectantly.

"No. No no no. Nope, I'm not gonna do it," Waverly tells her bestie once she realizes what Chrissy was implying.

"C'mon... what's the worst that could happen?"

"Uh, she could reject me," Waverly says with a 'duh' expression.

"So what? If she's crazy enough to turn you down, then it's her loss," Chrissy explains, trying to ease the brunette's mind. "And chances are, you'll never see her again... well, unless you have to fly out again and she happens to be working that day…"

Waverly just stares at her best friend with an unimpressed look.

"Sorry, not helping..." Chrissy quickly apologizes, getting back on track. "My point is... sometimes you have to just take a risk, regardless of the possible outcome."

"How do you know she's not straight? Or in a relationship?" Waverly implores.

" _Puh_ -lease... if those heart eyes she was giving you aren't a clear indication that she's into you too, I don't know what is," Chrissy adds in as an afterthought. "If you really wanna know, just ask her."

Waverly mulls over her friend's words for a moment, taking it all in, before making a decision.

"Ah, what the hell..." Waverly says as she abruptly stands up from the table. "Carpe diem, right?"

"That's my girl!" Chrissy responds enthusiastically, clapping her hands together. "Go get her, slugger."

Waverly plasters on a big smile to give the illusion that she's confident when she actually feels the exact opposite. Of course, Chrissy knows this and admires her bestie for being brave and at least trying.

With one last thumbs up from Chrissy, the brunette turns around and spots Nicole standing at the Exit doors, speaking to another officer. Once she sees the male officer practically sprint away in what appeared to be a 'bathroom emergency', Waverly takes a few deep, calming breaths before walking up to the redhead.

As if on cue, Officer Haught turns towards Waverly before she reaches the chair the redhead was now sitting in. With those dimples on full display, Waverly couldn't help but swoon and nearly lose all of her thought process as she stood beside this fascinating woman.

* * *

"Miss Earp... how can I help you?" Nicole confidently asks, trying her best to not let her giddiness slip out while her Southern drawl seeps out a bit.

 _Dimples and an accent! Jesus, this woman's trying to kill me!_ Waverly thinks to herself. _Get it together, Earp!_

After a moment of consideration, Waverly decides to just bite the bullet and dive right in.

"Well... I was hoping that you could answer a few questions for me?" She innocently inquires.

Thinking that these questions were going to be all work-related (although every officer at the Exit gets annoyed when passengers repeatedly asked them stupid questions like 'where's my gate' when it's circled right on their ticket), she decides to humor the beautiful woman.

With a nod of acknowledgement from the redhead, Waverly then proceeds to ask the following three questions:

 ** _1._** _**Are you single?**_

 ** _2._** **_Are you into chicks?_**

 ** _3._** **_And if so, would you maybe want to go on a date with me sometime?_**

Momentarily shocked by the inquiry, Nicole takes a few seconds to gather herself before meeting Waverly's hopeful eyes.

"Sorry... I'm just not use to women being so forward with me," Nicole eventually says.

"Well, when I see something I like... I don't wanna wait," Waverly replies in a low, sultry tone, surprising herself with her new found confidence.

Again, Nicole is taken aback.

" _Damn!_ _That sounds like something I would say_ ," Nicole mumbles to herself, but it's loud enough for Waverly to hear, causing her to giggle. "But to answer your questions: yes... yes... and _hell yes!_ "

Waverly smiles brilliantly and just as she's about to make some witty remark, they are interrupted by Jeremy's return.

"Whew! Thanks, Cole..." Jeremy sincerely states, taking back the two-way radio. "Things could've gotten _really_ dicey."

"No problem."

"Who's your friend?" Jeremy asks.

"Oh... this is Waverly," Nicole says as she begins to introduce them, not missing a beat. "And Waverly... this is Jeremy, my best friend."

"Nice to meet you, Jeremy."

"Likewise," the Indian man replies as he shakes her hand. "Well, I'll let you get back to your break. Thanks again for covering for me."

Nicole just smiles as she and Waverly begin to walk away from the Exit. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, the redhead steers them off to the side so that they're not blocking the flow of passengers coming and going.

"Since I'm on my break, I was wondering... could I buy you a cup of coffee or something?" Nicole gently asks, not wanting to sound demanding. "By the way... I'm Nicole," she adds in, just realizing that the brunette didn't know her first name.

" _Waverly_..." she replies as she grasps the redhead's hand and stares into her soulful brown eyes. "It's really nice to officially meet you."

They hold hands a little longer than a normal introduction would last, but neither of them seem to mind. Figuring that Nicole would probably have to get back to work soon, Waverly is the first to break their physical contact.

"I could go for some hot chocolate," Waverly mentions. Smiling in return, Nicole leads the way towards Starbucks.

When they arrive at their destination, like usual, the line is extremely long. Thinking that it was going to take forever to order their drinks with the limited amount of time that Nicole had, Waverly was about to suggest that maybe they could get coffee another time... until the cute, Latina barista spotted the redhead.

"Hey Nicole!" The barista greets over the crowd. "You want your usual?"

"Yes, please!" Nicole greets happily. "And whatever my friend here would like."

The Latina then looks at Waverly expectantly, waiting for her order.

"Oh! I'd like a tall hot chocolate with soy milk, please."

"Coming right up."

"Thanks Rosita!" Nicole says as she hands the Latina a ten dollar bill. "Keep the change."

With a wink and a smile, Rosita punches in the order and puts the change in the tip jar while her co-workers start on their orders. As Nicole and Waverly walk toward the 'pick-up' area, Nicole can sense a little change in the brunette's demeanor.

"So... Rosita seems _friendly_ ," Waverly says after a beat, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. She knew it was ridiculous to get jealous over someone she literally just met, but she couldn't help it.

There was something different about Nicole. Maybe it was the kindness she saw in her eyes or how her limbs got all tingly whenever their hands touched. Maybe it was the way Nicole smiled at her or how the words leaving her mouth were so soft and gentle, like a secret just between them.

Although Chrissy's teasing might have been the catalyst for Waverly's sudden boldness, there was definitely something about the redhead that Waverly wanted to explore and get to know more of.

"She is. She was one of the first people I met — outside of my co-workers — when I started working here," Nicole states casually. "She's _totally_ straight though... just in case you were wondering."

Waverly opens her mouth to object, but quickly closes it. There was no use in trying to deny what was obvious, especially since Nicole had picked up on it.

"Rosita is very friendly and flirty, but she's harmless," Nicole assures. "Jeremy is gayer than a unicorn in the middle of a pride parade, but she still flirts with him too. Endlessly."

This eases Waverly's mind as she giggles, but it also makes her feel a little silly.

"Sorry... I don't normally get all weird and possessive," Waverly tries to explain. "It's just been a really long time since I've done this."

"It's okay, Waverly..." Nicole genuinely states, appreciating her candor. "If I'm being honest... it's been a while for me too. In fact, I haven't even been interested in anyone..." She pauses briefly. "Well, that was the case, until I saw your beautiful smile..."

This time, Waverly can't help but swoon.

"Are you always this smooth with the ladies?"

"Me? No... not at all," Nicole chuckles out. "Maybe back in college when I had a little liquid courage in me, but definitely not now."

"I find that hard to believe, _Officer Haught_ ," Waverly teases the redhead as she playfully bumps her shoulder, seemingly challenging her. "I think you're quite charming."

Lowering her timbre, Nicole replies. "I could say the same thing about you, _Miss Earp_."

As hazel eyes bore into chocolate brown eyes, both women seem to feel a pull drawing them closer together. Neither one of them had ever felt a connection like this before, especially with a complete stranger.

As Nicole gently smiles at the brunette, showcasing those irresistible dimples, Waverly can't help but bite her lower lip.

But, before either of them could get too caught up in the moment, 'order for Haught' could be heard over the other voices surrounding them.

As Nicole grabs the two drinks, Waverly leads them over to the table where Chrissy was sitting, secretly watching their every move.

"Officer Haught! It's lovely to see you again," the blonde happily greets.

"It's nice to see you too," Nicole says with a smile. "And please... call me Nicole."

"Nicole it is."

"Shoot!" The redhead suddenly says. "I forgot the straws. Be right back."

As Nicole excuses herself, Chrissy looks squarely at Waverly, waiting for her to gush.

"Oh my God! Thank you so much for giving me the kick in the ass that I needed," Waverly praises. "We haven't gotten to talk that much, but I already wanna know more about her."

"That's awesome, Waves!" Chrissy exclaims. "Do you want me to make myself scarce?"

"No... I'm not gonna ditch you just because there's a beautiful woman that wants to talk to me."

"Trust me... you're not ditching me," the blonde says firmly, leaving no room for discussion as she stands from the table.

"You're not leaving, are you?" Nicole asks uneasily as she returns. "I hope it's not because of me."

"Don't be silly," Chrissy states with a wave of her hand. "I'm actually starving so I'm gonna go get some breakfast. You guys want anything?"

"I'm good with whatever, just as long as it's vegan," Waverly says with a grin.

"No thanks," Nicole politely declines, looking at her watch. "I actually have to get back in a few minutes."

"Ah, boo..." Chrissy says, a little disappointed. "Well, maybe next time. I'm sure I'll be seeing you again."

As Chrissy shoots a not so subtle wink towards her bestie, Waverly internally groans and facepalms. Meanwhile, Nicole just watches the interaction with a restrained laugh.

"I'll meet you at the gate, Waves!"

Waverly feels so embarrassed right now. She can't bear to look at the redhead.

"So... you're vegan?" Nicole inquires, trying to lighten the mood.

Waverly immediately looks up, seeing Nicole's kind eyes staring back at her. She feels relieved that this woman — for the second time in less than 10 minutes — knew just want to say to ease her mind when she felt like curling into a little ball and hiding from the rest of the world.

"Yeah. I have been since I was 15," Waverly replies. "My health teacher showed us a video of how meat is made; pretty much ruined it for me."

"Well, that seems like a pretty good reason," Nicole comments. "That explains why you don't eat meat, but what made you become a vegan as opposed to a vegetarian?"

"After I saw that video, I started reading more about it and watching other videos. Research is sorta my thing," Waverly adds in as she continues to geek out. Meanwhile, Nicole just leans in, listening intently to the brunette. "Anyways, seeing some of the harsh conditions these animals live in before they're slaughtered broke my heart. And learning about how cows are treated in order to get dairy products was a big turn off too. So yeah... I'm gonna stop talking now."

Again, Nicole just smiles at the brunette.

"I like that you're so passionate about this. It's very refreshing."

Waverly was surprised by Nicole's genuine interest, especially since most of her friends and family usually poked fun at her for her 'hippie lifestyle choices', not to mention her incessant rambling at times. And on top of that, the people she had dated in the past seemed appalled by the idea or barely remembered when they would go out to eat.

But Nicole was a breath of fresh air.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Waverly instantly responds.

"Given everything that you just told me, when we go out on our date, you're not gonna be offended if I order a big, juicy burger… are you?" Nicole asks half-jokingly, half serious.

She really didn't want to upset Waverly or appear as though she was mocking her.

"No, not at all. I realize that most people don't share my beliefs... and that's okay," Waverly clarifies. "But that was really sweet of you to ask."

"Well... I'm really looking forward to our date," Nicole shyly states, not looking directly at the brunette. "The last thing I'd wanna do is come off as a jerk."

"That's very considerate of you. I wish more people were like that," Waverly responds. "Speaking of our date... we should probably exchange numbers, huh?"

"Yeah, for sure!" Nicole agrees as she pulls out her iPhone. "What's your number?"

After Waverly verbally gives the redhead her digits, Nicole sends her a quick text so that the brunette would have her number too. As she feels her phone vibrate and sees the new text message from an unknown number, Waverly smiles.

' _Hey, this is Nicole_ ' with a smiley emoji.

It was so simple, but totally cute.

Waverly then replied with her own ' _This is Waverly_ ' text before saving Nicole's number under her contacts (adding a flame emoji next to her name).

"So... how long are you gonna be gone for?" Nicole asks after putting her phone away.

"For about a week. The wedding's on Sunday, but Perry — the groom — wants us to stay for a few more days so we can all catch up before he and his new wife go on their honeymoon," Waverly explains. "Normally, it would be impossible to get a week off from work. For Chrissy too. But when Perry offered to foot the bill for our entire trip (despite our protests) and endlessly begged us to come, it was pretty hard to turn down."

"Wow... Perry must be rich," Nicole says, astonished by the generosity of Waverly's friend.

"Oh, he is. He works in cyber security. His name is even on the Forbes list," Waverly brags, proud of her friend for all of his success. "The wedding is at some crazy, expensive resort in Key Largo."

"So, basically... this free vacay for you is like chump change for him?"

" _Basically_..." Waverly agrees with a chuckle. "He said I deserved a 'reward' after the 3 years I wasted with Champ."

"Champ?" The redhead implores.

Waverly is confused by the question at first until she realizes that Nicole has no idea whom she was referring to.

"Super terrible ex-boyfriend," Waverly simply clarifies. "It's a long story... more like a second or third date kinda topic."

Nicole wanted to comment on this new information, but chose not to. The fact that Waverly was talking about them going on multiple dates in the future was enough to satisfy her curiosity for now.

As she takes another sip of her cappuccino, Nicole glances at her watch. As a heavy sigh leaves her mouth and the slight disappointment covers her features, Waverly concludes that their time together is coming to an end.

"Do you have to get back?"

"Yeah... but I still have a couple of minutes," Nicole replies, hopefully. "Maybe I could walk you to your gate? Would that be okay?"

Grinning back at the redhead, Waverly quickly answers. "I would really like that."

As they both get up from the table and grab their still full beverages, Nicole walks alongside Waverly until they arrive at gate B8. Not exactly sure how to say goodbye without it being awkward, both women appear to have come to an unspoken agreement.

"It was really great meeting you," Nicole softly says.

"Ditto. And thanks for the drink," Waverly replies with a smile, not quite ready to say goodbye. "I guess I'll see you sometime next week?"

"Yeah... definitely."

On a whim, Waverly takes a step into Nicole's personal space and places her free hand on the redhead's upper arm. She then rises on her tippy toes and plants the most delicate kiss on Nicole's cheek.

Nicole was definitely caught off guard by the action and couldn't help but to momentarily close her eyes as she felt the softness of Waverly's lips pressed against her skin.

When Waverly's feet are planted back on the solid ground, she lightly squeezes Nicole's arm before releasing it.

"Bye, Nicole."

"Bye, Waverly..." Nicole manages to get out, barely above a whisper.

With one last smile, Nicole reluctantly turns around and heads back towards the checkpoint. Waverly watches her walk away until she is out of sight. She then lets out a deep breath that she didn't know she was holding before she turns around and scans the crowd for Chrissy.

It doesn't take much effort to spot the blonde, seeing that she had observed the whole interaction and was currently grinning from ear to ear, wider than the Cheshire cat. Waverly playfully rolls her eyes before joining her best friend.

"So... I take it things went well?"

" _Yeah_..." Waverly says a little breathlessly.

Seeing the pure elation on Waverly's face, Chrissy can't help but be thrilled for her friend.

"You look quite smitten, Waves."

Waverly seems to be struggling with her words, judging by the multiple times she's opened and closed her mouth before actually responding.

"I don't know, Chris... there's just something different about her."

"I can tell."

"As much as I love Perry and am so freakin' excited for him, I really can't wait to get back home," Waverly says candidly.

"I bet," Chrissy simply replies. "Well, for your sake... let's hope that this next week is just so filled with fun that time _literally_ flies by."

"That would be amazeballs!"

* * *

Nicole sails through the rest of her day with an unmistakable grin on her face. She can't stop thinking about Waverly and the prospect of seeing her again.

Although she doesn't want to seem overly eager (because, let's face it... she is), Nicole struggles with the idea of whether or not it would be too early to send Waverly a text. She was very familiar with the whole '3 day rule' and didn't want to possibly scare the brunette, but she also didn't want to pretend like she would be able to function properly and hide her feelings for the next 7 days.

After thinking about it long and hard, Nicole came to a compromise. She waited until the end of her shift and after she had gotten home and changed out of her work clothes to send Waverly a message.

Since she got off at noon and didn't arrive home until about 30 minutes later after stopping to get a quick bite to eat, Nicole figured that enough time had passed for Waverly to have arrived in Florida and get settled in.

It took Nicole several attempts before she figured out what to write. In the end, she decided to just keep it simple, but let the other woman know that she was thinking about her.

 **To Waverly:** _I hope you and Chrissy arrived at your destination safely._

Satisfied with the text, Nicole hit 'send' and put her phone down on the coffee table. She wasn't expecting to hear back from Waverly right away, or even the same day due to whatever wedding activities were planned before the big day. Nicole definitely didn't want to interrupt anything; that's why she kept her message brief.

Needless to say, she was pleasantly surprised when her phone chimed about a minute later with a new text message.

* * *

Truth be told, Waverly hadn't been able to stop thinking about Nicole either. She had toyed with the idea of sending the redhead a text when she and Chrissy had touched down in Florida, but then she voted against it. She figured Nicole would still be busy at work and wouldn't see the message until later; or worse... she wouldn't care, seeing that they had _literally_ just met.

Instead, Waverly shot a text to her sister Wynonna and her Aunt Gus so they wouldn't be worried. After sending another text to Perry to let him know that she and Chrissy had arrived, Waverly put her phone in her purse and resisted the urge to constantly check it.

Waverly was happy to see Perry again at the lunch that had been set up later that afternoon. She was happy to see some of their other mutual friends that had been invited to the wedding as well, but if she was being honest, she was a little distracted.

To the naked eye, Waverly was perfectly engaging and smiled and laughed in all of the right places, but Chrissy knew better. Having known the brunette since they were in diapers, Chrissy saw all the signs that her best friend's mind was otherwise occupied.

"Why don't you stop torturing yourself and just send her a text already?" Chrissy conspiratorially whispers.

"You don't know my life!" Waverly whisper-shouts back. After receiving a pointed look from the blonde, she concedes. "Fine, maybe you do. I just don't wanna seem desperate, okay?"

"But, you are," Chrissy retorts with no hint of judgement.

"I totally am," Waverly agrees with a giggle. "I'm completely hopeless."

"You're not. You are completely adorable right now though," Chrissy teases as Waverly starts to blush. She then gets more serious. "It's okay to be excited about Nicole. Allow yourself to _feel_ whatever it is that you're feeling and go from there. Trust your instincts."

After the weight of those words sink in, Waverly decides to throw caution to the wind and do what she's been wanting to do since the plane had landed earlier that morning.

"I knew there was a reason I keep you around," Waverly says jokingly as she stands up from the table, politely excusing herself to the ladies room.

Once she arrives, she places her purse on the counter next to the sink and retrieves her cell phone. Seeing that she had a few notifications from her Facebook and Instagram accounts, Waverly quickly looks through them as she thinks about what she wants to say to Nicole.

Just as she was scrolling through the last of her notifications, Nicole's name pops up under her unread messages. Instantly feeling like a giddy little school girl, Waverly doesn't hesitate to open the text and send her response.

 **To Nicole:** _We did! And thank you for checking. That's really sweet of you._

Deciding to trust her gut, Waverly types out another message and quickly sends it before she had the urge to chicken out.

 **To Nicole:** _To be honest, I wanted to text you earlier but I thought it may have been too soon. It's just... I can't stop thinking about you. Am I crazy?_

There's a brief moment of panic when Waverly sees the three little dots on her screen, indicating that Nicole was typing her response, appear and disappear several times. Luckily, she didn't have to wait too long for the redhead to ease her mind.

And Nicole's reply is perfect.

 **To Waverly:** _Well... if you're crazy, then I am too. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you either._

Then a few seconds later, another text comes in.

 **To Waverly:** _Is it next Friday yet?_

 **To Nicole:** _Lol. No... not yet, unfortunately :(_

 **To Waverly:** _A girl can only dream lol_

 **To Waverly:** _I'm sure you probably have a really busy day ahead of you, but... would it be ok if I texted you later?_

 **To Nicole:** _I would really like that._

 **To Nicole:** _Well, I should go. I'm at lunch with a big group and don't wanna seem rude._

 **To Waverly:** _My bad! I didn't mean to keep you from your friends._

 **To Nicole:** _It's fine. You didn't know. (Plus, I'm hiding in the ladies room)_

Adding the 'shhh' emoji at the end of her text, Waverly smiled when she received Nicole's response, happy that the redhead got her sense of humor.

 **To Waverly:** _Your secret is safe with me ;)_

 **To Waverly:** _But seriously... get back to your friends._

 **To Nicole:** _Fine... twist my arm. Lol_

 **To Nicole:** _I'll talk to you later tonight._

 **To Nicole:** _And Nicole... thanks for texting me._

 **To Waverly:** _You're welcome, Waverly. Thanks for asking me out. I look forward to learning more about you._

 **To Nicole:** _Me too. And it was definitely my pleasure ;)_

 **To Waverly:** _Have fun._

 **To Nicole:** _I'll try :)_

With her last text sent, Waverly slips her phone back into her purse and washes her hands. She then exits the bathroom and rejoins her group of friends.

"Hey Waverly, you okay?" Perry asks, a little concerned since the brunette had been gone for a few minutes.

"I'm amazing!" Waverly answers with a bright smile before turning to Chrissy and shooting her a wink.

Chrissy laughs to herself, ecstatic that her best friend was genuinely happy.

As the rest of the day flew by, although she was completely exhausted from the flight and being on her feet non-stop, Waverly couldn't help but feel a burst of energy when her phone lit up with a new text from Nicole.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hey everyone!

So... I decided to take a short break from my Brittana writing and try something new. Don't worry, I won't be away from the Brittana fandom for long, but I wanted to dabble with another ship and bring you this short story featuring _WayHaught_.

 **Side note:** You can all thank **kp83** ;)

Now, for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, let me explain...

 _WayHaught_ is the pairing of Waverly Earp and Nicole Haught from the **SyFy** show _**Wynonna Earp**_. They are played by the lovely Dominique Provost-Chalkley and Katherine Barrell. Their on and off screen chemistry is incredible and really inspiring, so if you don't watch the show but are looking for a new couple to ship... _WayHaught_ is it! Also, the show is filled with badass, smart, sexy women so... what more could you ask for?

This story will have at least one more chapter (if not two); I haven't decided yet. But after it's done, I promise I'll be back to Brittana, writing the next chapter for Quantico.

Again, thanks to everyone that still reads my stories. If you have some time, I would love to hear your thoughts. And if you enjoy this story, then I might be inclined to write more _WayHaught_ stories in the future.

 **Happy Pride Month everyone!**

Until next time!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own **SyFy** , _**Wynonna**_ _**Earp**_ , or any of the characters mentioned in this story. Emily Andras is a genius and I'm simply just borrowing some of her characters to entertain you guys.


	2. Those Eyes

For seven straight days, Waverly and Nicole talked non-stop.

Whenever Waverly wasn't busy with wedding stuff or just exploring the city and enjoying her mini vacation, she was texting the redhead. And whenever Nicole wasn't at work, napping, or hanging out with her friends or her cat CJ (aka Calamity Jane), she was talking to the brunette.

They sent each other dozens of photos: selfies of Waverly and Chrissy on their little adventures around the city (and some from the wedding); pics of the amazing food they were eating; selfies of Nicole and CJ; and even a selfie of Nicole and Jeremy.

They also became Facebook friends (because, let's face... it's not official if it's not on Facebook).

By the time the third day rolled around, the two ladies had thrown in a couple of FaceTime conversations (which Chrissy totally crashed, unapologetically). By day four, Nicole and Waverly ended their nights with a phone call, just so that they could hear each other's voices.

It was almost like they had known each other for years, when really... it was literally just a few days.

In anticipation for their date, Nicole and Waverly played a variation of 20 questions, both eager to learn more about the other woman. While they saved the more personal questions for when they were face-to-face (i.e. previous relationships), they both had fun getting to know other small things about each other.

* * *

Nicole learned that Waverly was 21 and lived in the city of Benson, which was about 45 miles Southeast of Tucson, where Nicole lived and worked. She also spoke 6 different languages, which blew Nicole's mind (whom only spoke English and little bit of Spanish).

Waverly worked at a bar called _Shorty's_ in Tombstone, which was owned by an old family friend (of the same name) and ran by her Aunt Gus.

Apparently, the bar was an exact replica of the saloon located in a place called Purgatory (which was somewhere in Canada). Waverly had never been there before, but the saloon was apparently a favorite hangout spot of her great-great grandfather, Wyatt Earp.

Yes... _that_ Wyatt Earp.

Amazed by that fun little factoid, Nicole was very interested in Waverly's family tree and her life, in general.

While the brunette stayed rather mum on the family talk (opting to save that sordid story for a later date), she did share that part of the reason that her immediate family had moved to Benson was because of its close proximity to Tombstone, home of the infamous gunfight at the _O.K. Corral_.

Steering the conversation away from her 'dysfunctional' family, Waverly told Nicole that she also worked as a research assistant at the University of Arizona in Tucson, which also happened to be the redhead's alma mater. When Waverly wasn't working, she was taking online courses to finish up her double major in Ancient Languages and History.

Waverly learned that Nicole was 23 and originally from Texas. She had gotten a basketball scholarship from the University of Arizona and graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice. Although she originally planned to have a career in Law Enforcement, life had other ideas for her.

Again... a more personal story for another time.

Nicole told Waverly that she was an only child. While it was a little lonely growing up, the redhead had a few family pets over the years to keep her company. After Nicole had graduated from college and was living on her own, she decided to adopt CJ from the Humane Society. She was a fluffy, orange feline that was more partial to women than men.

 _Just like me_ , Nicole had thought to herself humorously as she was completing the adoption paperwork at the time.

Although Waverly had an older sister that she was pretty close to, she had only had one pet during her childhood. He was a hamster named Pikachu and apparently... he didn't last very long in the Earp household.

Nicole learned that Chrissy was Waverly's best friend and roommate, which she pretty much gathered from their first meeting. They had known each other since birth practically and their fathers worked together: Waverly's father being the Chief of Police in Benson (the city they lived in) and Chrissy's father being the Sheriff of Cochise County (the county they lived in).

Although Waverly already knew that Jeremy was Nicole's bestie, she learned that they had only known each other for just shy of two years. They had met in the early stages of the application process for TSA and instantly hit it off. Anytime they had to meet up to fulfill another step in the long federal process, Nicole and Jeremy would go to lunch afterwards to catch up.

After there had been a lull in their progress due to the government hiring freeze, Nicole and Jeremy worked other jobs to make ends meet, but still found time to keep in touch and occasionally hang out. After about 6 months of radio silence from TSA, they both had finally gotten a call back for their final interview and assessments.

At the end of a long 8 hour process with the 32 remaining applicants, Nicole and Jeremy were two of the eight total applicants that were offered jobs. Immediately accepting it, they were given their academy date, which they were set to attend the following month.

For the 2 weeks that Nicole and Jeremy were at the academy, they grew closer and their bond only continued to strengthen once they got back and began their on-the-job training. Seeing that they had gone through the entire process of applying to the agency together, to being hired, and then going through training until they were ready to be released as solo officers (on the same shift with the same off days), Nicole felt like Jeremy was the little brother that she never had.

Every new bit of information that Nicole and Waverly learned about each other made them more intrigued and even more excited to finally go on their first date.

* * *

As the plane touched down in Tucson at approximately 1:12 PM that Friday afternoon, Waverly was bubbling over with excitement.

Although they both had relatively busy schedules the following day — Waverly working a double shift at Shorty's and Nicole having to wake up super early for work — both women had agreed on meeting for dinner that evening. Knowing that they would be in the same area code again, neither one of them minded losing a little bit of sleep if it meant that they got to have their date tonight.

As Waverly and Chrissy sent off their text messages to let their families know that they had made it back safely, the brunette is surprised when her phone immediately starts vibrating in her hand. Looking at the screen, she sees her sister's picture pop up.

"Hey Nonna!" Waverly happily greets. "Me and Chris are just exiting the plane now. We still have to go downstairs to get our bags though."

" _Bad news, Babygirl_..." Wynonna starts off, in lieu of a greeting. " _I'm not gonna be able to pick you up_."

"Why? What happened?"

" _Dolls is sick_ ," Wynonna explains. " _He came in, looking like death ran over twice, so I sent him home_."

Feeling sympathetic towards her ailing friend, Waverly couldn't find it in herself to be upset about the minor setback in her travel arrangements to get home.

"Poor guy. I'm sure he fought tooth and nail to stay."

" _Of course he did. That man is just as stubborn as me_ ," Wynonna chuckles lightheartedly.

"I guess that's why you guys make the perfect pair," Waverly says happily.

She and Chrissy were now outside of the gate, stepping aside to get out of the way of all of the passengers hurriedly making their way towards baggage claim.

" _I guess so_ ," Wynonna agrees. " _I tried to tell him this morning before I left the house, but he showed up anyways. He refused to leave until Gus got all up in his ass_."

"I swear, she may be the only person he fears..." Waverly comments. "Well... her and Daddy."

" _For sure. Are you guys gonna be okay finding a ride_?" Wynonna questions. " _I'm really sorry, Waves_."

"It's fine. Totally not your fault," Waverly sincerely says. "Do you guys need me to come in tonight?"

Although it was the last thing she wanted to do, she would if her family needed her help. That's just the type of person she was.

" _Absolutely not_!" Wynonna says firmly, leaving no room for argument. " _Doc said he would come in and help me cover Dolls' shift. Besides, you have a date with that hottie tonight. No way you're missing that; not on my watch_."

Waverly just chuckles, happy that her sister had eased her worries.

"You haven't even met her."

" _No, but I've seen pics_ ," Wynonna defends. " _Girl definitely lives up to the name_."

"Oh my gosh! You sound like Chrissy," Waverly says as she shakes her head lightly, the smile never leaving her face.

While Waverly was talking to her sister on the phone, Chrissy had been listening to the brunette's side of the conversation, trying to find a solution to their problem. Upon hearing her name, Chrissy looks up, just in time for her eyes to land on a nervous-looking redhead walking their way. And since Waverly's back was facing the opposite direction, she didn't see who was approaching them.

"How 'bout Nicole?" Chrissy casually asks.

Bringing the phone slightly away from her ear, Waverly replies. "How 'bout Nicole, what?"

Forming a shit-eating grin on her face, Chrissy simply lifts up her hand and points her index finger down the corridor. Turning her head to see what her best friend was pointing at, Waverly is astonished to see the redhead.

" _Babygirl? What's happening_?" Wynonna asks after a few moments when her sister had stopped speaking.

Barely registering that Wynonna was still on the phone, Waverly mutters out. "It's Nicole! She's here."

" _Really? Hottie McHaught is there_?" Wynonna squeals excitedly. " _Babygirl, why are you still on the phone. Go get you some_!"

As Waverly takes her sister's advice and swiftly hangs up the phone, she finally comes face-to-face with the woman she had been dying to see.

"Nicole! Hi!" Waverly giddily says, not at all ashamed at how high-pitched her voice sounds.

" _Hey, Waverly_..." Nicole softly says, looking at the brunette with what Chrissy had classified as 'heart eyes'. Not sure what to do with her hands, the redhead stuffs them into her pockets to try and tame down the nervous energy she was currently experiencing.

Not wanting to be rude, Nicole quickly looks over to Chrissy and greets her as well.

"Hey, Chrissy."

"Hey Nicole. Good to see you again," Chrissy says smugly, just watching as her best friend and potential love interest awkwardly occupy the same space.

Feeling that it was her duty to give Waverly another friendly push, Chrissy leans over and whispers into the brunette's ear.

" _Stop thinking so much_."

Taking her advice, Waverly takes a tentative step forward, entering Nicole's bubble. "It's really great to see you."

Following her lead, Nicole removes her hands from her pockets and takes a step forward as well.

"I, uh... I missed you," Nicole says cautiously. "Is that weird?"

" _Super weird_..." Waverly replies. Before Nicole has a chance to feel dejected, the brunette quickly follows it up with, "But... I missed you too. So, I guess we're just a bunch of weirdos."

" _Ugh... you guys make_ _ **The Notebook**_ _look bleak_."

Puzzled by the fact that she heard Wynonna's exasperated voice, Waverly quickly looks at the phone in her hand. Apparently in her haste to hang up on her sister, she accidentally hit the 'Speaker' button, as opposed to the 'End Call' button.

" _Shit_..."

" _That's right, Babygirl... I'm still here_ ," Wynonna says teasingly.

While Chrissy tries her best to contain her laughter, Nicole embarrassedly rubs the back of her neck.

"Bye, Nonna!" Waverly exclaims, making sure she definitely hit the right button this time. "Sorry about that. There's no excuse for my sister."

Feeling a bit of relief, Nicole smiles with her dimples on full display before she closes the gap between them and wraps her strong arms around Waverly. In return, Waverly wraps her arms around the redhead's shoulders and snuggles into Nicole's embrace.

This was by far the best hug that either of them had ever received.

As Waverly breathed in the lingering scent of vanilla-dipped donuts that totally screamed Nicole, she couldn't help but feel at peace. Granted, Waverly had only known the redhead for exactly a week; however, there was just something about Nicole's presence that immediately calmed her.

Not wanting to interrupt the tender moment she was witnessing — but also knowing they still needed to figure out how they were getting home — Chrissy lightly clears her throat, causing Nicole and Waverly to reluctantly pull a part.

"Sorry... I don't mean to be a buzzkill, but we still need to get our bags..." Chrissy cuts in, addressing Waverly, "... and figure out how we're getting home."

"What happened with your sister?" Nicole politely asks, not wanting to seem nosey. "I thought she was picking you guys up?"

"She was, but something came up. That's why she was calling," Waverly explains. "Wynonna had to send her boyfriend home 'cause he's sick. So that means she's stuck at the bar."

"And both of our dads are at work right now," Chrissy adds in.

Not wanting to seem too forward, Nicole takes a moment to sort out her words before speaking again.

"I could give you a ride," Nicole slowly offers. "I mean, if you're okay with me knowing where you live..."

"What?! No, I couldn't ask you to do that. That's a 45 minute drive," Waverly exclaims, not wanting to take advantage of the redhead's generosity. "Plus, that's gonna cut into your nap time."

Waverly takes a breath before a realization hits her.

"Wait! Shouldn't you be at home, napping now?" The brunette questions, looking at her watch. "Didn't you get off over an hour ago?"

As Nicole's face flushes to a similar shade of red like her hair, she begins to furiously rub the back of her neck, a tell of bashfulness (or embarrassment) that Waverly had picked up on.

" _Uh_..."

Nicole starts to say, but then pauses, clearing her throat to give herself a little more time to reign in her thoughts.

"First off... let me start off by saying that although Waverly's use of the term 'nap time' makes it sound like I'm a toddler, I'm not," Nicole clarifies, speaking directly to Chrissy at first. "It's perfectly normal for an adult to take a two or three (or four) hour nap when they work such crazy, early hours."

All Chrissy can do is cover her mouth and nod her head to restrain herself from _literally_ laughing out loud.

Waverly isn't doing much better.

"And to answer your questions..." Nicole continues on, talking to Waverly now. "One: you didn't ask me for a ride; I offered. Two: yes, I usually would be napping now, but..."

Nicole pauses once again, but this time, she seems more confident than embarrassed. As she takes a step closer into Waverly's personal space, she lightly brushes a rogue strand of brunette hair behind Waverly's ear.

"Truthfully... I really couldn't wait until tonight to see you," Nicole confesses. "So, I _may_ or _may_ _not_ have volunteered to work a little overtime, knowing you would be arriving soon… which is my third point."

Nicole says the last part more quietly. Before Waverly can respond, Chrissy can't resist commenting on the adorableness happening in front of her.

"OMG! You are just the cutest thing ever!" Chrissy gushes. "You should keep her."

" _Chrissy_! You're killing me here," Waverly chides her best friend with a stage whisper as her cheeks start to warm up.

Happy that the heat is off of her for the moment, Nicole uses the opportunity to plead her case.

"Look, if you guys would rather call a cab or order an Uber, that's fine. It'll probably cost $60 plus, but if you would feel more comfortable doing that, then I understand; no hard feelings," Nicole genuinely states. "I was just trying to help. Plus, I figured that we could get a bite to eat beforehand and you guys could tell me all about your trip. And maybe I could get to know you a little better, Chrissy."

Caught off guard by Nicole's sincerity and the depths of kindness in her eyes, Waverly couldn't help but feel all tingly inside. In Waverly's past experiences, usually no one ever offered to do anything helpful or nice for her, just because they wanted to. It was always a game of tit for tat, especially when it came to her ex.

But... Nicole was different; a breath of fresh air.

Nicole was so attentive and respectful of Waverly's comfort zone and boundaries, despite not knowing her for a long period of time. Also, the fact that the redhead was showing a genuine interest in not only her but also her best friend spoke volumes to Waverly.

" _How are you single_?" Waverly breathily says to herself, still stunned by the woman in front of her.

As Waverly watches Nicole's face change from serious to slightly amused, she leans over to Chrissy and conspiringly whispers, " _I kinda said that out loud, didn't I_?"

"Totally."

Shaking off her misstep, Waverly looks back at Nicole, who has a dimpled grin on her face now.

"If you're really sure you don't mind, then we'll take you up on your offer," Waverly says shyly.

"I'm sure," Nicole immediately replies, her smile growing even wider. "Should we go get your bags?"

With a non-verbal yes, the three women make their way towards the Exit and downstairs towards Baggage Claim. As they get to the carousel, they observe the conveyor belt come to life as the first few pieces of luggage start to emerge.

"Are you guys in the mood for anything in particular, food-wise?" Nicole implores.

"I'm open for anything," Chrissy responds. "It's Waves here that's the difficult one," she says teasingly.

"Thanks for that, ya jerk," Waverly retorts, playfully shoving the blonde. "Wherever you guys wanna go is fine. I can find something to eat anywhere, even if it's just a salad."

"Well, I've been doing some research and there's a lot of vegan-friendly restaurants around here," Nicole starts to say before she suddenly stops, noticing the look of awe on Waverly's face. "What?"

"Y-you did research?"

"Well, yeah..." Nicole answers hesitantly, not sure if that was a good or bad thing yet, based on Waverly's facial expression. "I don't want to seem presumptuous, but I figured we would eventually have some dates around here and we could try out some of these places _together_."

Astonished by the amount of care and effort Nicole had already shown her, Waverly was beside herself.

"You'd do that for me?" Waverly asks, not wanting to sound too hopeful.

"I'd do a lot of things to you..." Nicole easily replies before her brain catches up with her mouth. " _For_ you... I'd do a lot of things _for_ you."

Hearing the slip of tongue, Waverly's body instantly heats up. Although it was way too early in their budding relationship for something physical like that to happen, Waverly couldn't help wondering about those particular things happening with Nicole in the near future.

 _I'll keep that in mind_ , Waverly thinks to herself.

Seeing how rosy her best friend's cheeks were getting, Chrissy knew that Waverly's head was probably in the gutter, thinking about the redhead's last statement.

Deciding to intervene before Waverly turned as red as a tomato, Chrissy points to the carousel and says, "Hey Waves, isn't that your bag?"

Looking up, the brunette is slightly confused because she has no idea what her best friend was talking about. However, one look at Chrissy's face that said, 'girl, you're blushing... _hard_!' and Waverly took the hint.

"It might be. Let me take a closer look," Waverly states as she moves through the crowd, throwing a whispered 'thanks' to the blonde before she disappears.

" _Very smooth_..." Chrissy says teasingly towards Nicole.

"I didn't mean to imply—"

Before she can complete her rambling, Chrissy politely cuts her off.

"It's okay. I'm not gonna bust your chops for practically undressing my bestie with your eyes..." Chrissy chides, causing Nicole's eyes to go wide. "I'm just kidding! Man, you're easy."

As Nicole calms down her rapidly beating heart at the blonde's joke, Chrissy's expression gets a little more serious.

"Relax, Nicole. You're already _1,000 percent_ better than Waves' ex," Chrissy compliments before pausing, considering her next selection of words. "She's such a good person and has a heart of gold. A lot of people don't always appreciate her. They take her for granted..."

Chrissy pauses again, looking Nicole dead in the eye.

"She deserves someone as great as she is... and I really think that could be you."

Taken aback by how serious their little conversation had turned, Nicole sees it as what it is: a best friend showing her concern (due to Waverly's previous relationships), but also her support and hope that things work out between them.

"I've never met anyone like Waverly before. Getting to know her this past week has been amazing," Nicole speaks honestly. "I'm not perfect, by any means. But... just being in Waverly's presence makes me wanna try so damn hard to be everything that she deserves."

"Well... I'd say you're doing a pretty damn good job so far," Chrissy assures.

"Thanks, Chrissy. That really means a lot."

Before things could get any more real, Waverly comes back, lugging two suitcases with her.

"So, it turns out that that wasn't my bag you saw. However, I saw yours and grabbed it," Waverly rambles out. "And then, just as I was pulling yours off the belt, mine magically appeared!"

"That's great, Waves! Thanks!" Chrissy says, taking her suitcase from the brunette, loving her enthusiasm.

"Do you guys have everything?"

"Yep! We're all set." Waverly happily responds.

"Alrighty, follow me."

* * *

As the three ladies make their way outside, Nicole leads them along the sidewalk, passing by the people waiting on their respective rides, towards the employee parking lot. Once they enter, Nicole walks towards the fifth row and turns down it, before stopping in front of a charcoal gray Jeep Grand Cherokee.

"Well, this is it," Nicole says, gesturing to the vehicle. As she unlocks her SUV, she opens the rear door. "Here, let me grab those for you."

Being the gentlewoman that she is, Nicole takes Chrissy and Waverly's bags and puts them in the back of her vehicle before closing the door.

"Waverly, did you want to sit in the back with Chrissy?"

Not expecting that question, Waverly looks back and forth between Nicole and Chrissy.

"Oh, umm..."

It was so refreshing to have someone ask Waverly what she wanted for a change; however, it was also blatantly obvious to Nicole that the younger woman wasn't used to someone being considerate to her, even over something so small.

This revelation made Nicole really sad. But, it also gave her hope that perhaps she could show Waverly all of the things that she should've expected from a potential partner, but never received.

"I'm good with whatever," Nicole assures, not wanting Waverly to feel pressured to sit up front with her.

Glancing back at Chrissy, whom is winking at her (not subtly either), Waverly makes her decision.

"I'll sit up front."

The wide, dimpled grin that spreads across the redhead's face tells Waverly that she made the right choice.

Once everyone is inside the SUV and buckled up, Nicole starts the vehicle, rolls down the windows, and cranks up the air conditioning to let the hot air out. As she removes the sunshield from her front windshield, she folds it up and places it behind her.

"Before we take off, would you guys mind if we stopped by my place before grabbing lunch?" Nicole asks. "I'd really like to freshen up and get out of this uniform. Plus, I figured since I'm gonna be seeing where you guys live, it's only fair that you get to see where I live."

"No problems here," Chrissy easily replies.

"Ooh! Does that mean I get to meet CJ?!" Waverly exclaims giddily as she claps her hands together, excited about the prospect of meeting Nicole's cat.

"Yes ma'am," Nicole says, letting that Southern drawl of hers seep out.

"Yay! Let's go!"

Chuckling at the younger woman's excitement, Nicole puts her vehicle in reverse and maneuvers out of her parking space. She then grabs her gate key from the center console so that they're able to leave the parking lot.

Once they're out of said parking lot, Nicole heads West on the freeway and drives about 15 minutes until they arrive at her apartment.

Hearing the keys jingle in the door, the three women are greeted by a fluffy, ginger cat once they step through the door.

"Hey CJ," Nicole coos as she picks up the cat and rubs behind her ears. "There's some lovely ladies here that I'd like you to meet."

To Waverly and Chrissy's surprise, Calamity Jane meows in response.

"CJ, this is Chrissy," Nicole says as the blonde gives the cat a little wave. "And this is Waverly... the one I've been telling you about."

Whispering out that last part — but still loud enough for everyone to hear it — Waverly bashfully smiles at Nicole.

"Hi CJ! It's nice to meet you," Waverly states. "I hope you don't mind that I asked your mommy out on a date."

Carefully, Waverly lifts her hand up and slowly moves it up to CJ's nose. CJ eyes the brunette closely, not sure what to make of this new human. Upon receiving another scratch behind her ears from Nicole, CJ appears to be more at ease.

When Nicole stops scratching her, CJ leans towards Waverly's still outstretched hand and sniffs it carefully. Seeming satisfied by the brunette's scent, CJ rubs her head against the proffered hand, telling Waverly that she's okay. Taking the hint, Waverly begins to scratch behind the cat's ears, in the same fashion that she had witnessed Nicole doing. CJ then begins to purr.

"I'm gonna say she likes you," Nicole happily states.

"I guess so," Waverly replies, still focused on the feline.

"Well, let me give you guys a quick tour."

Seeing both women nodding their heads, Nicole shows them around her two bedroom apartment before setting them up in the living room with the television. As they idly chit-chat to kill time, Nicole retreats to her bedroom to wash away the grime of her work day.

Since she already had the clothes she planned on wearing picked out the night before, Nicole decides to take a quick shower so that she would feel completely refreshed. After toweling off, she quickly gets dressed and touches up her hair before she joins the ladies in the living room.

The sight in front of her tugs at her heart strings, observing CJ sprawled out on Waverly's lap while she sat on the couch. Wanting to capture this candid moment, Nicole stealthily pulls out her phone from her back pocket and snaps a quick photo.

Placing her phone back in her pocket, Nicole finally makes her presence known.

" _Well well well_... it looks like I've been replaced already," Nicole says teasingly.

"What can I say; _gingers_ love me," Waverly playfully retorts back before looking up and fully taking Nicole in.

And the sight was breathtaking.

Dressed in her casual clothes, Nicole wore a navy blue button-up shirt with blue skinny jeans and maroon low-top Vans. The colors of her outfit were the perfect contrast to her fiery red hair.

Waverly had swooned (in private) over seeing Nicole in her uniform. She even enjoyed seeing pictures of the redhead in her regular clothes, but everything paled in comparison to what she was seeing right now in person.

To be able to see Nicole up close in form-fitting clothes — which her somewhat bulky uniform hid deceivingly well — left Waverly practically speechless.

"Uh, Waves? Honey... you're drooling," Chrissy kindly says as she leans into the brunette.

Upon hearing the comment, Waverly quickly slaps her hand up towards her mouth and wipes around it. The sudden movement startles CJ, whom takes off towards the bedroom. Once Waverly realizes that Chrissy was just messing with her, she shoves the blonde away from her.

"You're such an ass."

Chrissy doesn't disagree. Instead she just snickers uncontrollably.

"Are y'all ready to go?" Nicole asks with a grin.

"Totally."

* * *

After enjoying a delectable meal at the _Lovin' Spoonful_ , the three women hit the open road, running into spots of traffic here and there due to the time of day.

As they sit in the SUV with their bellies full and listening to whatever song happened to be playing from Nicole's playlist on Spotify, the redhead notices how much Waverly's legs appear to bounce up and down when she's _really_ into a particular song. Out of her peripherals, Nicole can see Waverly mouthing the words to herself, but for whatever reason, the brunette refused to sing aloud.

Catching Chrissy's eye in the rear view mirror, Nicole subtly tilts her head in Waverly's direction, asking the silent question, 'what's up with that?' The solemn look on Chrissy's face says it all.

Nicole assumed that Waverly's reluctance to sing along out loud had something to do with the 'super terrible ex-boyfriend' that she had mentioned before in passing, but she didn't know for sure. She hoped that she was wrong, but her gut-feeling said otherwise.

Either way, Nicole had to find out. If her hunch was right, then she wanted to do whatever she could to alleviate the situation.

 _ **I threw a wish in the well**_

 _ **Don't ask me, I'll never tell**_

Upon hearing the new song that was playing, Nicole looks over again and sees Waverly staring out the window, her lips moving along to the lyrics.

Suddenly, an idea strikes her.

Never being fully confident with her singing abilities, Nicole takes a chance.

" _ **I'd trade my soul for a wish...**_ " Nicole softly begins to sing, glancing over towards the front passenger seat. " _ **Pennies and dimes for a kiss...**_ "

Waverly can feel Nicole's eyes on her, but she makes no effort to look back at the redhead.

Catching on to what Nicole was trying to do, Chrissy joins in.

" _ **I wasn't looking for this, but now you're in my way...**_ "

A small twitch of Waverly's lips tells Nicole that her plan is working. Waverly is smiling — _even if it's small_ — and she's trying her best to hide it.

Looking back at Chrissy in the mirror, Nicole nods her head and they both sing the next few lyrics together.

" _ **Your stare was holding; ripped jeans, skin was showin'... Hot night, wind was blowin'...**_ "

Before they get to the last line before the chorus, Waverly can't take it anymore and belts it out herself.

" _ **Where you think you're going baby?!**_ "

Nicole grins victoriously as the three women sing the chorus in unison.

 _ **Hey, I just met you... and this is crazy**_

 _ **But here's my number, so call me maybe**_

 _ **It's hard to look right at you baby**_

 _ **But here's my number, so call me maybe**_

 _ **Hey, I just met you... and this is crazy**_

 _ **But here's my number, so call me maybe**_

 _ **And all the other boys try to chase me**_

 _ **But here's my number, so call me maybe**_

After that, Waverly seems to visibly loosen up as they all continue to sing the song until it comes to an end, giggling along the way.

Turning down the volume of the radio, Nicole quickly glances at the brunette before training her eyes back on the road.

"Your voice is beautiful, Waverly. Why were you trying to hide it?"

The question is innocent enough, but from the corner of her eye, Nicole can see Waverly's shoulders visibly deflate.

"Some people find it annoying," Waverly mutters, barely above a whisper as she picks at the imaginary lint on her jeans.

" _Hmm_..."

Upon hearing the short response, Waverly stills her hand and turns her body towards the driver's side of the vehicle. Looking fully at Nicole now, she can see that the redhead's eyebrows are furrowed and she appears to be in deep thought.

"Hmm?"

"Sorry... I was just thinking about who these 'people' are," Nicole says, her features softening. "I mean, _clearly_ they're deaf... or just idiots. I haven't decided yet."

Waverly is astonished by Nicole's words and how easily the older woman is able to bring a smile to her face.

In one smooth motion, Nicole reaches her right hand over the center console and carefully places it on Waverly's thigh.

"Whoever told you that didn't deserve to have you in their presence in the first place," Nicole genuinely states. "As long as you're hanging with me, you can sing as _loud_ , as _long_ , and as _much_ as you want. Okay?"

Nodding her head yes, Waverly breathes out an 'okay'.

Waverly wanted to say more, to thank Nicole for making her feel _significant_ , but the words got stuck on her tongue.

You see... the brunette was having a hard time maintaining her focus with Nicole's hand so close to her _private_ area. Although her hand was reasonably placed and not moving at all, the fact that Waverly could look down and see Nicole's porcelain skin so _casually_ resting on her thigh made Waverly a little hot under the collar.

With a light squeeze and a quick flash of dimples, Nicole removes her hand and rests it back on the center console.

Waverly sighs at the loss of contact; not because of the way it made her whole body heat up, but because of the gesture of comfort that was behind the touch to begin with.

Shaking the cobwebs out of her mind, Waverly glances at the other occupant in the vehicle. Apparently, that was a mistake because Chrissy had a smirk on her face and was wiggling her eyebrows at the brunette.

Rolling her eyes at her best friend, Waverly turns in her seat so that she's facing the front again.

 _Keep it in your pants, Earp! You haven't even made it to the date part yet_ , Waverly silently reminds herself.

She doesn't dare to make eye contact with Chrissy again for the remainder of the trip, knowing damn well that that smug look would still be plastered on her face.

Instead, Waverly adjusts the volume of the radio herself and sings freely to the song that's now playing. Eventually, Nicole and Chrissy join in until they arrive at their next destination.

* * *

By the time they make it to Waverly and Chrissy's house, it's a little after 4 PM.

"Wow... this is your place?" Nicole says in awe as she pulls onto the gravel driveway and puts her Grand Cherokee into park. "It's huge!"

"Yeah... we call it the 'Homestead'. It was my home growing up," Waverly explains. "It's been in my family for years."

"Does anyone else live here with you guys?"

Nicole wasn't trying to be nosy, but the house was so large and miles away from civilization that she figured not too many people ventured out towards this way.

"Wynonna usually stays here when she comes to visit so she still has her own room," Waverly says with a giggle. "As you can see, we're pretty far away from everything."

"And besides Wynonna's designated room, we have two more spare bedrooms and the couch in the living room pulls out into a bed," Chrissy adds in. "Whenever we have a get together, everyone usually just crashes here so that they don't have to drive so far to get home."

"That makes sense."

As the three women get out of the vehicle, Nicole grabs their suitcases from the back and rolls them towards the front door. Once they enter, Chrissy bids her farewell as she grabs her bag and goes upstairs to her room.

Meanwhile, Waverly gives Nicole the grand tour of the house, saving her room for last.

"... and this is my room," Waverly says as she opens the door to the master bedroom on the first floor.

"Wow... this room is totally you," Nicole says, praising the décor that Waverly had chosen for her own private space.

"Thanks."

Inside her bedroom, Waverly had a queen size bed with an ottoman at the end of it. In the corner of the room near the window, there was a desk (where her laptop rested), a chair, and a lamp. Above the desk was a small shelf, filled with a few trinkets, and above that was a corkboard with various photographs and post-it notes scattered across it.

On the other side of the bedroom was a large bookshelf. The top three shelves were dedicated to some of Waverly's favorite book series, such as _Harry Potter_ and _The Hunger Games_. The bottom half was covered by an accoutrement of text books about ancient civilizations, languages, and the Wild West.

"You have a very eclectic taste."

"Yeah... I'm a bit of a nerd," Waverly replies sheepishly, looking away.

" _Hey_..." Nicole says, gently placing her finger underneath Waverly's chin and turning her head back towards her. "That's one of the many things I like about you, Waverly Earp."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah..."

Their faces were so close together now that they could feel each other's hot breath hitting against their lips. They hadn't even officially started their date yet, but Waverly and Nicole had been dreaming of this moment when they would share their first kiss.

Nicole looks at Waverly so affectionately, the question in her eyes asking, 'is this okay?' Receiving no complaints from the brunette, both women lean in simultaneously.

Just as their lips are about to meet, the sound of Waverly's phone going off in her back pocket halts their movement.

 _ **Well I gave you all I got to give**_

Waverly groans loudly as she rests her forehead against Nicole's.

"It's Wynonna."

 _ **I know that ain't no way to live**_

"Aren't you going to answer?"

"Do I have to?" Waverly huffs out like a petulant child, making the redhead chuckle.

 _ **So I told that devil to take you back**_

"I'm sure she's just worried about you," Nicole surmises as she places a delicate kiss on Waverly's forehead. "I'll give you some privacy."

As Waverly watches Nicole leave the room and close the door behind her, she momentarily forgets why the redhead was leaving in the first place.

 _ **I told that devil to take you back**_

" _Oh, right_..." Waverly sighs as she extracts her phone from her pocket. "Hey, Nonna..."

* * *

As Nicole travels further away from Waverly's bedroom, the last thing she hears is the brunette saying, " _you told me to go get me some_..."

Not wanting to eavesdrop on the sisters' conversation, Nicole just smiles to herself and makes her way into the living room. Sitting down on the couch, the redhead takes her phone out of her pocket and looks up fun attractions nearby.

Initially, the plan was to just go to dinner, but... since Nicole was in town a lot earlier than they had originally expected (and they had already eaten), she thought it would be nice to do something fun and active instead.

"Mind if I sit?"

Nicole's head pops up at the sound of Chrissy's voice. She had been so engrossed in her phone that she hadn't seen the blonde come downstairs.

"Not at all. It's your house."

As Chrissy takes a seat on the opposite end of the couch, she takes a peek to see what Nicole was doing on her phone.

"Mini golf?"

" _Yeah_ …" Nicole answers slowly, hoping that her idea was something that Waverly would be into.

"There's a miniature golf place around here?" Chrissy says in surprise.

"In Benson? I wish..." Nicole says with a chuckle. "There's a place in Sierra Vista."

"But that's like a 30 plus minute drive," Chrissy argues. "Aren't you tired of driving?"

"I don't mind; I like driving," Nicole easily states. "Besides, I figured it could be something fun for our first date."

" _Wow_..."

"What?" Nicole asks, worriedly. "You hate it, don't you?"

"No, it's not that," Chrissy promises with a giggle. "I'm sure she'll love it."

"Then, what is it?"

"I'm just not used to someone being so considerate of what Waverly might or might not want to do," Chrissy explains.

"The ex?"

"Mostly," Chrissy confirms. "Sometimes her family can be like that. They mean well, but it happens. Hell, I'm guilty of it too occasionally."

"That's kinda sad."

"I know. Because Waverly is so giving, sometimes it's easy to forget that she should have an option too, ya know?" Chrissy says rhetorically. "She's always so busy taking care of everyone else first that she hardly ever does anything nice for herself."

Nicole nods her head in understanding.

"We've all tried to be more mindful of it and make sure that we don't make decisions _for_ Waverly, or at least without acknowledging her and getting her input," Chrissy further states. "Her ex was the worst though."

"Well, sometimes it's much easier to tailor yourself to the people you're with than to go against the grain," Nicole says knowingly. "Sometimes it takes a while before you really figure out _who_ you are and _what_ you want."

Chrissy looks at Nicole with an unreadable expression. "Dude... you're like a walking bumper sticker."

"Uh, thanks?"

"Trust me, it's a good thing," Chrissy says with conviction.

"I'll take your word for it."

"Alrighty, I'm gonna get outta your hair. You two have fun," Chrissy says as she gets up from the couch and walks over towards the stairway. As she's about to head back upstairs, she pauses. "Hey Nicole?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for earlier, in the car," Chrissy says.

"I didn't do anything special," Nicole says as she shrugs her shoulders.

" _So modest_..." Chrissy mumbles to herself. "It might not seem like a big deal, but I'm sure it meant the world to Waves."

Nicole opens her mouth to respond, but then stops. She honestly didn't feel like she did anything note-worthy, but apparently she was wrong.

"Look... I don't know what all took place between Waverly and her ex; it's not my business. But, if she wants to share that with me one day, I'm all ears," Nicole begins to say as she stands up from the couch so that she can be on the same eye level as the blonde. "I just want Waverly to be comfortable. I want her to know that when she's with me, she can just be _herself_ , without worrying that I'm gonna judge her."

Before Chrissy can formulate a response, Waverly chooses this moment to enter the room.

Unbeknownst to them, Waverly had heard a good portion of their conversation. It wasn't her intention to eavesdrop, but hearing the worrisome tone of her best friend's voice stopped her in her tracks.

Waverly had no idea that Chrissy felt this way. Regrettably, she also had not realized how much of herself she had lost or pushed aside to be the 'perfect' girlfriend to Champ while they were together.

 _It's all in the smile and wave, right?_ Waverly thinks to herself, sardonically.

Not wanting to continue to intrude on their private conversation, Waverly chooses to finally speak.

"Hey guys... hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"Of course not, Waves," Chrissy reassures.

As Nicole turns around to see the brunette, she lets out a muffled 'whoa'.

After Waverly had gotten off the phone with Wynonna, she decided to do a little freshening up herself before she and Nicole left for their date. Once she washed her face, she decided that a quick change of clothes was in order.

Looking back at her now, Nicole was amazed and couldn't see anything else in the room but Waverly. Wearing a light coat of make-up, a pair of khaki-colored short-shorts (which made her tanned legs look endless), and an emerald-colored blouse that made the green in her eyes really pop... Waverly looked like a goddess.

Completely forgetting about the seriousness of the conversation she was just having with Chrissy, Nicole steps into Waverly's personal space and gently grasps both of the younger woman's hands.

"You are a vision."

" _Please_... I'm not even wearing anything fancy," Waverly timidly says, trying to brush off the compliment.

"You don't need to," Nicole says firmly. "In fact, I'm _positive_ that you could be wearing a burlap sack and _still_ be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

" _Wow_... you sure know how to make a girl feel good about herself," Waverly says in reply, _clearly_ swooning hard.

"I'm not saying anything that isn't true."

As Waverly and Nicole continue to make heart eyes at each other, Chrissy decides to break up the intensity of the moment before the two woman devoured each other right in front of her.

"And that's my cue to leave," Chrissy says loudly, snapping both women back to the present.

" _Sorry Chris_..." Waverly says ruefully as her cheeks heat up. "Forgot you were there."

" _Clearly_ ," the blonde agrees. Chrissy then looks at Nicole with a semi-serious expression. "Have her home by midnight."

"I have to be at work at 4 in the morning tomorrow, so believe me... she'll be home _way_ before that," Nicole says mockingly, playing along.

Chrissy waves her finger sternly at the redhead before her face cracks a smile. "I like you."

Without another word, Chrissy turns abruptly and heads upstairs.

"Okay... that was a little weird; even for her," Waverly says after a beat, before turning her attention back to the redhead. Clasping her hands together, she asks, "So, where are we going?"

"How do you feel about hitting little balls with a stick?"

"I _LOVE_ hitting things with sticks!"

Hearing that excited response, Nicole holds out her arm. "Well then, let's go m'lady."

Smiling back at the older woman, Waverly instantly loops her arm around Nicole's and lets her lead them to the official start of their first date.

* * *

After completing the first nine holes, Nicole and Waverly decide to take a little break and sit on a nearby bench, continuing their little chat.

"So, where did you learn to dance?" Nicole inquisitively asks, prompted by the music currently playing in the background.

Hearing Drake's new song filter through the outside speaker made Nicole think of the video that Waverly had sent her during her week in Florida. Apparently, as a gift to him, Perry had asked Waverly to do the " _In My Feelings_ " challenge when the DJ had played the song at the wedding. Nicole was familiar with the Drake song, but she was unaware of the viral social media challenge that had been taking place since the song had been released.

When she had first seen the video, Nicole was mesmerized by Waverly's rhythm and movement. She was so impressed with the brunette's dance moves, so naturally, Nicole was curious as to where Waverly had learned to move like that (but foolishly forgot to ask). The redhead herself was not gifted with the ability to dance; however, she could rock a mean two-step every now and again (and snap her fingers like nobody's business).

"I kinda taught myself, I guess," Waverly starts off giddily. "I've always loved to dance. Something about it is just so freeing and..."

Suddenly, Waverly stops speaking, seemingly lost in thought. As much as she loved to dance, the reason _why_ she started dancing in the first place did not reflect a pleasant time in her life. Waverly knew that she would eventually share this story with Nicole; she just wasn't sure if it was _too deep_ for a first date.

So far, spending her day with Nicole had been pretty amazing.

Waverly got to meet CJ, which had been a highlight in itself. After that, she had a pleasant lunch, chatting about random things with Nicole and Chrissy, and getting to eat some delicious vegan food, thanks to the redhead's thoughtfulness. Then, their mini road trip to Benson had been an entertaining ride, filled with non-stop karaoke that she actually participated in.

And now, she and Nicole were finally alone, enjoying an impromptu mini golfing adventure that had been filled with fun and laughter.

Waverly really didn't want to put a damper on their date, especially since it had been so pleasurable and light-hearted.

Noticing the change in Waverly's tone and body language, Nicole cants her body a little more towards the brunette and lightly places her hand on top of Waverly's.

"Hey... we can talk about something else if you want," Nicole softly says. "No pressure."

Feeling the warmth of the redhead's hand resting on top of hers made Waverly feel safe and comforted. She wasn't used to this, and as much as she wanted to save the more sad and serious stuff for dates in the future (because she was absolutely positive that there would be dates in the near future), Waverly felt secure enough in Nicole's presence to let her guard down.

"It's okay. It's just that, whenever I'm dancing... I don't feel like of all of the shitty stuff that has happened in my life weighs me down as much," Waverly finally say after a beat. "It's almost like I can escape it... even if it's just for a little while."

Not exactly sure what the younger woman was referring to, Nicole just sits there with a kind ear and an open mind, letting Waverly know that she could take her time and share as much or as little as she wanted to.

"Okay, so... I'm not gonna go into too much detail because it's really sad and I'm having such a great time with you, so I don't want to turn into a blubbering mess," Waverly prefaces their conversation, wanting to make sure that Nicole understood what she was saying.

When she sees the redhead nodding, Waverly takes a deep breath and begins again.

"So... I had another sister, Willa. She was the oldest; 7 years older than me, but only 1 year older than Wynonna. She, uh... she passed away when I was 10. Her and Mama. Bad car accident," Waverly reveals, trying her best not to get choked up. Upon seeing the saddening, but consoling eyes of Nicole, she adds in, "it's fine... it happened a long time ago."

Nicole doesn't say anything, not wanting to interrupt whatever it was that Waverly was trying to get out. Instead, she just squeezes the brunette's hand.

"Daddy took it really hard. He started drinking _A LOT_ ; even got suspended from work. He's better now, thanks to counseling and Chrissy's dad helping him, but he wasn't for a long time. Back then, he was in no condition to take care of me and Nonna, so we went to live with our Aunt Gus and Uncle Curtis for a while," Waverly continues on. "Nonna tried to be okay in front of me, but she was hurting the most, I think. She lost her best friend, her mother, and essentially her father, once he started drinking excessively. Eventually, _she_ started drinking too and acting out at school. She started hanging out with older people and sometimes wouldn't even come home for days."

Waverly stops to take a deep breath. Although she was trying her best not to be long-winded, she was failing _horribly_.

But... Nicole didn't seem mind.

"When she turned 18, Nonna left Benson. I don't know how she was supporting herself or who she was with or where she even was, but she would email or text me from time to time to let me know she was safe," Waverly carries on. "She came back to visit a handful of times, but never stayed for long. After she left, I felt so alone for so long. I remember just being in my room, listening to music, and just letting the beat of whatever song take me away. Through dance, I was able to express myself and forget about everything for a little while."

As Nicole continues to listen intently, she begins rubbing small circles on Waverly's hand.

"Once I reached high school, I felt like a social leper. I was the girl with no mom... or the girl with the dead sister... or the girl with the drunk dad... or the girl with the trainwreck of a sister. I was never just _me_ … Waverly. I was a walking pity party to everyone I came across," Waverly explains. "I was so tired of people talking about me and my family so negatively, so Chrissy suggested I try out for the cheerleading squad. She was going out for the team as well, so I figured 'what the hell?' It was the closest thing that was dancing related; hell, it even made me popular."

Waverly scoffs at herself, gearing up towards the part of her story that she's not _particularly_ proud of.

"When I hit junior year, one of the guys on the football team asked me out."

"Champ?" Nicole asks tentatively.

"Yeah... he was _super_ popular and made me even _more_ popular by being with him. He was nice enough and cute, but dumber than a box of rocks. I felt like more of a possession than an actual person when I was him, but still... dating him made me feel 'normal' again, if that makes any sense," Waverly elaborates, receiving a nod in affirmation from the redhead. "We dated off and on for about 3 years. There were always rumors that he was cheating on me, but I never had any proof. Being one of the most popular guys at school, a lot girls wanted him and were jealous that he 'chose' me... at least that's what my naïve younger self chose to believe. Anyways, whenever I did hear those rumors, I wouldn't sleep with him. And so, we'd break up for a few days or weeks and then we'd get back together."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you stay with him for so long?" Nicole implores, judgement free.

Waverly chortles, having been asked this question multiple times by multiple people over the years.

"Small town. Limited dating options."

"Fair enough," Nicole responds.

"That's what I used to tell myself, at least," Waverly discloses. "Honestly, I think that I was so insecure and afraid of being alone that I made myself stay with him, even though I knew I shouldn't. Chrissy always told me that I deserved better, but back then, I didn't believe it."

"So... what made you finally end it, for good?" Nicole carefully prods.

"Wynonna finally came home," Waverly says with hopeful eyes. "I was so excited to see her after so long. I think the last time was about 3 years prior, right before I started dating Champ."

Waverly pauses and smiles, remembering the day her big sister finally came back into town, for good.

"She didn't like Champ, but she never said it outright… at least not to me. I think maybe she felt like it wasn't her place since she had been away for so long," Waverly continues on. "Anyways, the day Nonna came home, I was working at the bar, so she stopped by to surprise me. Champ was there playing pool with his moronic friends, but when I came back from a bathroom break, I saw him hitting on this girl..."

" _Seriously_?! He actually tried to pick up another woman at the place you work, _while_ you were working?" Nicole says, appalled.

"I know! I couldn't believe it!" Waverly bellows. "It was the wake-up call I needed though. To see that he was so blatantly disrespectful to me and our relationship just made everything crystal clear to me."

"So, what'd you do?"

"I called him out for being an unfaithful dickhead and told him to never call or text me again. He kept apologizing, but I was over it and told him to leave," Waverly carries on. "He refused, and as I was trying to walk away, he grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go... until the lady he was trying to flirt with kicked him where the sun don't shine."

"Let me guess... the mystery woman was Wynonna?" Nicole says perceptively. With a nod from the brunette, Nicole beams widely. "I can't wait to meet your sister... and _thank_ her for getting that shithead away from you. I _may_ even buy her some whiskey."

At that, Waverly lets out a full-belly laugh, gently bumping her shoulder into Nicole's.

"You do that and she'll love you."

"Well, I don't need her to love me. _Liking_ me is acceptable," Nicole giggles back, looking more adorably at the brunette. "Besides... there's only one Earp that I'm interested in."

Waverly's hazel eyes immediately darken at the comment. She wants so badly to remove the space between them, but she refrains from doing so. Instead, she bites her lower lip and glances down, finding Nicole's hand still on top of hers. On a whim, Waverly turns her hand over and tangles their fingers together.

Nicole then looks down and sees how perfectly their hands fit together. Shyly, she smiles at Waverly.

"So... what about you? Any crazy, depressing stories about your exes?" Waverly ponders, attempting to change the subject and release some of the sexual tension that had built up.

"Well, I wouldn't say depressing or crazy (at least not at first), but breaking up with my ex was definitely an _experience_ ," Nicole foreshadows. "I was kind of a late bloomer. In high school, I was super lanky and acne was _not_ my friend."

Nicole laughs at herself, thinking back on that time in her life.

"I've only ever had one serious girlfriend. Her name was Shae. She was a year older than me and was studying to become a doctor," Nicole picks back up. "We met my sophomore year and dated for about 2 years. When she graduated, she was going to move to New York for med school."

"So, you guys broke up because of the distance?"

"No. We actually never made it that far," Nicole says cryptically. "Right before her graduation, I had set up an internship at the local police department. It was slated to start once my senior year began. I was super excited about it because I always wanted to be a police officer, ever since I was a kid. But, uh... Shae wasn't too thrilled about that."

"Why not? I mean, she was studying to become a doctor to help people. You were doing the same thing, just in a different, _more_ _dangerous_ format," Waverly states a little angrily, not fully understanding what Shae's problem was.

"In her mind, being just a 'local, rookie flat-foot' wasn't _prestigious_ enough for her," Nicole clarifies. "And it wasn't like me wanting to become a cop was a total surprise; she knew about it from the very beginning. I guess when I got accepted for my internship, it just cemented _how_ serious I was about it and that wasn't something she could deal with."

"No offense, but your ex sounds like a total bitch."

Again, Nicole laughs at the brunette's choice of words.

"She wasn't all bad. We had some decent times together, but I think I always knew that it wasn't meant to last. Her moving to New York was the perfect excuse to end it since I couldn't bring myself to do it earlier," Nicole further states. "She was very passionate about becoming a doctor one day, which I truly admired. But, it just sucked being in a relationship with someone where you support them in everything they do, yet... it's not reciprocated. Instead, they just piss all over your dreams, like they don't matter."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Waverly sincerely states while squeezing the redhead's hand a little tighter.

"Eh... I guess we all have our reasons for staying," Nicole simply replies.

Waverly nods in support of that statement, knowing that same feeling all too well.

For a few moments, they just sit there, holding hands while reflecting on their past relationships. However, something that Nicole had mentioned earlier sticks out to the brunette.

"So, wait… how did you end up at TSA if you wanted to become a police officer?" Waverly curiously inquires.

Upon hearing the question, Nicole visibly tenses up. Waverly can see (and feel) the redhead go completely rigid as Nicole looks away from her.

"Hey… what just happened?" Waverly worriedly asks as she gently caresses Nicole's cheek with her free hand. "You can tell me anything, but only when you're ready."

"I, uh…" Nicole stops to clear her throat, knowing that this was going to be difficult to get through. She definitely hadn't thought of the possibility of this particular topic coming up so soon in her relationship with Waverly, but after all that they had shared thus far, Nicole figured that she might as well put it all out there on the table. "I h-had to give up on t-that."

A pained expression covers Waverly's face. "How come?"

"After I finished my internship with the police department, I started going through the application process to become a real cop," Nicole slowly starts to explain. "I got to know a lot of people while I was interning. Everyone really liked me and said that I should apply, so I did."

"That had to feel pretty cool."

"It did. Right before I graduated, I had my final interview with the Chief and all of the other higher ups. I was super nervous, but I felt like I handled the process pretty well and answered their questions to the best of my abilities," Nicole continues on. "A week after I graduated, I finally got the call I'd been waiting for. I got the job! I was so ecstatic. I had been working so hard to get to this opportunity, and _FINALLY_ it was here."

"That doesn't really surprise me," Waverly says thoughtfully. "You are pretty amazing."

Nicole sadly smiles at the younger woman, gearing up for the gloomy portion of her story.

"A couple of days before I was supposed to start at the academy, I suffered an injury that pretty much ended my future in law enforcement," Nicole cryptically states. "I was leaving the club with one of my friends when we heard a woman screaming from the alley. We went to help and when we got there, there was this guy all over this woman, trying to force her skirt up."

"Oh my God!" Waverly gasps.

"Luckily, we got to her in time before the guy could do whatever it was that he was planning on doing, but… when we intervened and pulled him off of her, I got pushed back and slammed my back pretty hard into the sharp corner of the trash compacter," Nicole reveals. "I dislocated my shoulder and had to have immediate surgery. Since the dislocation was to the posterior side, which usually is very rare (like 2-4% of all dislocations), it took a while to heal. It took three surgeries and a year of rehab to get my shoulder back to about 80 percent functional."

Speechless, Waverly just looks back at Nicole with a sympathetic eyes.

"Obviously when it first happened, I wasn't fit for duty, and the Chief needed to fill my vacant spot. I understood that," Nicole explains. "While I worked crappy telemarketing jobs during my recovery, I worked my ass off to get my shoulder back into shape so that I could reapply to the police department. When I did, the Chief pulled me aside and told me that I _would've_ made one hell of an officer; however, given the extent of my previous injury, I was too much of a liability to him and the department."

Nicole stops speaking after that, giving Waverly a chance to absorb all of the information she had just laid down in front of her.

"I just don't understand…" Waverly says after a pregnant pause, furious from what she had just learned. "After everything you went through, _especially_ with how you even received that injury – protecting another person – and that's all they had to say to you?!"

"Pretty much. I even tried applying to some of the neighboring agencies, but they all said the same thing," Nicole replies somberly. "To them, I wasn't good enough… I was damaged goods."

" _Oh, Nicole_ …"

While the redhead has a stoic look on her face, Waverly can feel her own eyes tearing up.

"After that, I went through a little bit of depression. I didn't do anything extreme like try to hurt myself or use drugs, but I did close myself off from the rest of the world," Nicole says, carrying on with her story. "I worked from home so I never really had a reason to leave the house, unless my fridge got supremely understocked. I was really sad and disappointed. And then I started thinking that maybe Shae was right… maybe this whole idea of becoming a police officer was ridiculous and something I wasn't cut out for."

"No! You listen to me, Nicole Haught…" Waverly says determinedly, roughly wiping away the wetness from her face. "I know we haven't known each other for very long, but you are _by far_ the most caring and compassionate person I've ever met. I _know_ that you have what it takes to make an incredible police officer one day because you have the biggest heart and desire to help people. Those other departments that turned their back on you were stupid and really missed out on something good."

Hearing the veracity in Waverly's speech really touched Nicole's heart. Here was this beautiful, kind-spirited woman who barely knew her, speaking a truth that Nicole had lost for a time. For having suffered through her own tragedies earlier in her life, Waverly still stood determined and believed in herself… and apparently Nicole too.

"Thanks, Waves…" Nicole quietly says, still holding onto the younger woman's hand. "Even though I'm past that part of my life, I think I really needed to hear that."

"You're welcome…" Waverly simply replies, still stuck on hearing her nickname roll so effortlessly off the redhead's tongue.

"We're quite the sad pair," Nicole sarcastically comments. "I mean, I've been out of the dating game for a while, but I don't remember any of my other dates getting this intense."

Nicole laughs at herself for what feels like the thousandth time that day.

"Some first date, huh?"

"It has been a doozy," Waverly snickers back. "Honestly though… I wouldn't change one part of it."

"Me either," Nicole readily agrees.

"So, what helped you finally get out of the funk you were in?" Waverly asks, furthering along the conversation. She loved the fact that they could go back and forth from the serious stuff to the more light-hearted stuff.

"I got CJ," Nicole happily states. "I was watching TV one day and one of those super depressing commercials with the poor animals that are mistreated came on and just tugged on my heartstrings."

" _Ahh_ … those commercials get me every time," Waverly concurs, "especially once you hear that Sarah McLachlan song playing in the background."

" _Right_?! It's like they want you to start crying… which I did," Nicole says, unapologetically, making Waverly giggle. "Anyways, I realized that I needed to get my shit together because there are people and animals out there in way worse situations. So… I got up, got dressed, and went down to the Humane Society. Once I brought CJ home with me, everything changed."

"How do you mean?"

"Having that responsibility of taking care of another living thing really put things into perspective for me," Nicole begins to elaborate. "I started feeling like my old self again and worked really hard to suppress all of the negative thoughts I was feeling about myself. I learned to accept that I'll probably never be able to be a police officer and help people the way I imagined when I was younger, but… my job at TSA is helping people on another level. It gives me a purpose."

"Seriously… how are you single again?" Waverly suddenly blurts out, causing Nicole to blush.

"I, uh… don't know?" Nicole answers non-committedly. "Since Shae – _and my blunder of self-pity_ _phase_ – I've been on a few dates here and there. Nothing that ever led to a second date though."

"Same here," Waverly simply replies. "Why do you think that is?"

"For me, I just became more selective. If I learned anything from my relationship with Shae, it was what I want and definitely _don't_ want in a potential love interest," Nicole clarifies. "However, out of all of the women that I met and shared a meal with, I just never felt that _spark_. I felt it would be unfair — to both of us — if I agreed to go on another date with them, knowing that I saw no future."

Digesting those particular words, Waverly can't help but wonder what that meant for them and if Nicole saw a future with her.

Curiosity getting the best of her, Waverly had to ask the question; consequences be damned.

"And what about with me? Do you feel that _spark_?"

Nicole takes her free hand and brushes a stray piece of hair behind Waverly's ear, much like she did earlier that afternoon at the airport. She then looks deep into the Waverly's hazel eyes.

" _Waverly_... I felt that spark the first time your fingers brushed against mine, as you were handing me your boarding pass."

Waverly's breath catches in her throat, overwhelmed by Nicole's candid words. The brunette had felt it too, and now she had confirmation that the feeling was mutual.

Watching as Nicole's focus flittered back and forth between her eyes and her lips, Waverly couldn't help but draw closer to the redhead.

"And to be quite frank... I don't think I'll be able to wait until the end of the night to kiss you," Nicole whispers.

"Then don't," is Waverly's automatic response.

"Yeah?" Nicole asks, just to make sure.

" _Yeah_..."

Needing no further prompting, Nicole leans in and closes her eyes. Meeting her halfway, Waverly does the same and immediately feels the butterflies erupting in her stomach as their lips meet for the first time. The kiss is slow and tentative, but man… it's _miraculous_.

Keeping their lips pressed together for a few more seconds, reluctantly, Waverly and Nicole pull a part and rest their foreheads against each other. They both felt the magic happening between them and wanted to continue exploring it; however, given their public venue, they decided to keep the PDA to a minimum.

"I don't know how you expect me to finish the rest of this game after a kiss like that," Waverly breathes out, her lips tingling from their kiss.

"Does that mean you forfeit the back nine?" Nicole playfully retorts.

Waverly lightly pecks Nicole's lips before swiftly standing up and grabbing her putter. "Not a chance."

"You wound me, Waverly Earp…" Nicole says in mock-offense, placing her hand over her heart as she stands up as well.

"I gotta keep you on your toes, Haught."

With a sexy wink and a grin, Waverly makes her way to the next hole, purposely swaying her hips in an exaggerated motion.

" _Have mercy_ …" Nicole mumbles to herself as she just stands there and watches the beautiful woman move further away from her like a Greek Goddess.

After walking a few steps ahead and not feeling the redhead's presence behind her, Waverly turns around to find Nicole rooted in her spot, staring blankly ahead.

"Cole! You coming?"

Shaking the lust-filled thoughts from her head, Nicole turns on her swag and catches up to the brunette. Letting that Southern drawl seep out, she replies, "Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

After Waverly beat Nicole in putt-putt, the two enjoyed some vegan sushi before making their way back to Benson.

While they sat in a comfortable silence, both reflecting over the long day they had spent together, low music plays softly in the background.

 _ **Something must've gone wrong in my brain**_

 _ **Got your chemicals all in my veins**_

 _ **Feeling all the highs, feeling all the pain**_

Hearing this particular song playing, Nicole subtly glances at Waverly before training her eyes back on the road.

The more that she learned about Waverly, the deeper the connection she felt. It was unlike anything Nicole had ever experienced before.

 _ **Let go on the wheel, it's the bullet lane**_

 _ **Now I'm seeing red, not thinking straight**_

 _ **Blurring all the lines, you intoxicate me**_

"Nicole?" Waverly softly speaks, not wanting to disturb the atmosphere inside the vehicle.

 _ **Just like nicotine, heroin, morphine...**_

"Yeah, Waves?" The redhead responds, acknowledging the younger woman.

 _ **Suddenly, I'm a fiend and you're all I need**_

"Have you ever met someone and instantly known in your heart that they meant something to you?"

 _ **All I need, yeah...**_

Pulling up to red light before turning onto AZ-90, Nicole physically turns her head and makes eye contact with Waverly.

 _ **You're all I need...**_

"I might kinda get that, yeah..." Nicole honestly replies.

It looks like Nicole wants to say more, but before she has a chance to, the sound of a horn honking behind them prevents her from doing so.

 _ **It's you, babe...**_

 _ **And I'm a sucker for the way that you move, babe**_

 _ **And I could try to run, but it would be useless**_

 _ **You're to blame...**_

 _ **Just one hit of you, I knew I'll never be the same**_

Seeing that the traffic light had turned green, Nicole presses the gas to continue their trek.

 _ **It's you, babe...**_

 _ **And I'm a sucker for the way that you move, babe**_

 _ **And I could try to run, but it would be useless**_

 _ **You're to blame...**_

 _ **Just one hit of you, I knew I'll never ever, ever be the same**_

As she continues to drive, Nicole can't help but to replay Waverly's question over and over again.

 _ **You're in my blood...**_

 _ **You're in my veins...**_

 _ **You're in my head... (I blame)**_

Nicole thought that she was going completely insane for developing such strong feelings for Waverly so quickly, but... she couldn't help it.

 _ **You're in my blood...**_

 _ **You're in my veins...**_

 _ **You're in my head...**_

Waverly must've picked up on the internal battle happening within Nicole, due to her knuckles turning ghost-white while they were tightly wrapped around the steering wheel.

On a whim, Waverly lifts up her left hand and places it on top of Nicole's right hand.

 _ **I'm saying it's you, babe...**_

 _ **And I'm a sucker for the way that you move, babe**_

Surprised by the sudden touch, Nicole loosens up her death-like grip a little and allows Waverly to gently peel her hand away from the wheel.

 _ **And I could try to run, but it would be useless**_

 _ **You're to blame (you're to blame)**_

Slowly, Waverly brings Nicole's hand up to her mouth and gingerly brushes her lips against her knuckles before placing the most delicate kiss against the back of the redhead's hand.

 _ **Just one hit of you, I knew I'll never be the same**_

Enamored by the simple act, Nicole reciprocates and leaves a lingering kiss to the back of Waverly's hand as well.

 _ **It's you, babe...**_

 _ **And I'm a sucker for the way that you move, babe**_

In that moment, Nicole and Waverly had a silent conversation. Even through brief eye contact (since Nicole had to keep her attention on the road ahead), they let each other know that they were on the same page; that it was okay to be a little afraid of the unknown... because they would be facing it _together_.

 _ **And I could try to run, but it would be useless**_

 _ **You're to blame...**_

With a quick squeeze to her hand, Nicole relinquishes control to the brunette beside her. Feeling that release, Waverly smiles at the redhead and brings their joined hands to rest on top of her lap, clasping her free hand over their solid connection.

 _ **Just one hit of you, I knew I'll never ever, ever be the same**_

Their hands stay just like that for the remainder of their drive.

* * *

Pulling up again in the now familiar gravel driveway just after 9 PM, Nicole puts her vehicle in park and cuts the engine. As she unhooks her seatbelt and is about to get out, she finds a peculiar look on a Waverly's face.

"What?"

"What are you doing?" Waverly innocently asks.

"What do ya mean?" Nicole curiously implores. "I'm gonna walk you to your front door and make sure you get inside safely," she easily explains.

Seeing the gob-smacked look on the younger woman's face, Nicole asks the same question.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Sorry... I'm just not... I mean, I wasn't—"

As Waverly fumbles over her words, Nicole tangles their fingers together and softly tilts Waverly's chin up so that she had her full attention.

"Hey, Waves... just breathe, okay?"

Nicole's soothing voice immediately calms Waverly down as she takes the redhead's advice. After a few deep breaths, Waverly gathers herself and is finally able to properly speak again.

"I'm not used to all of this... _chivalry_ and stuff."

"Well... _get_ used to it," Nicole simply states as she detaches their hands and hops out of the SUV.

Momentarily stunned by Nicole's words and sudden departure, Waverly jumps a little in her seat when the passenger side door opens up shortly thereafter.

" _Holy shit_! I think I just peed a little," Waverly says offhandedly.

Choosing to ignore the comment and suppress her growing smile, Nicole extends her hand and offers it to the brunette.

Unbuckling her seatbelt, Waverly happily takes Nicole's hand and lets the redhead lead her up the stairs until they are standing on the front porch.

"I had an amazing time with you today," Waverly softly says.

"Even with the pity party?" Nicole says lightheartedly.

"Even with the pity party," Waverly declares. "In a weird way, I think that was the best part."

"Why is that?"

"Because we both got to learn something _real_ about each other; something that not a lot of people know about," Waverly explains. "Although it was sad and painful at the time, we both got through it. It made us the people that we are today."

Waverly takes a step closer to Nicole, wrapping her arms loosely around the redhead's shoulders. In return, Nicole lightly grasps the brunette's hips.

"You made me feel safe and secure enough with myself to be that vulnerable with you. You didn't judge me or pull away... you just held my hand and listened," Waverly sincerely says. "I've never felt like this before. You're unlike anyone I've ever met."

"You know what's ironic?" Nicole asks rhetorically. "I said almost the exact same thing to Chrissy earlier."

"When?"

"When you went to get your luggage," Nicole responds. Waverly blushes a little, recalling that particular memory of how Nicole's comment made her body feel. "I want to learn everything there is to know about you, Waverly Earp."

"I want to know everything about you too," Waverly whispers out as she rises on her tippy toes and crashes her lips into Nicole's.

Not expecting the sudden movement, the force of it sends Nicole back a few steps, but she quickly recovers and holds Waverly closer. This kiss was a lot different than the first one they shared at the mini golf place. It was a little messy and crazed at first, but after a few seconds, the two women settled into a nice rhythm. Unlike their kiss before, this one was full of passion and heat; the build-up of a week's worth of private conversations (along with everything they had learned about each other earlier that day) coming to fruition.

Now that they were alone, Nicole takes a minute to slow things down. Even though their night together was coming to an end, the redhead didn't want to rush this beautiful moment they were sharing; she wanted to bask in it.

Getting the hint, Waverly lets Nicole take the lead as their kisses become less frantic and more sensual. Nicole carefully walks them towards the door, guiding Waverly to the step up that lies in front of the door. Like a well-oiled machine, Nicole lightly lifts Waverly up until her feet are resting on the step and she no longer has to strain her neck to keep kissing the taller redhead. Even in a moment like this where both of their minds were clouded by desire and the softness of the other woman's lips on their own, Nicole was mindful and considerate.

Tilting her head a little to get a better angle, Nicole tightens her grip around Waverly's waist as she feels the brunette's tongue graze her bottom lip. Immediately granting access, their tongues meet for the first time and begin to playfully battle for dominance. Neither one of them is sure who moans first, but it ignites a fire within each of them as they continue to make out like there's no tomorrow.

Eventually, the whole 'needing air to breath' thing comes into play and they reluctantly disconnect their now swollen lips.

"That was… _wow_ …" Nicole says through labored breathing as she leans her forehead against Waverly's. All the brunette can do is nod her head in response, still reeling from their kiss. "I really don't wanna go home now."

Waverly smiles at her honesty, pulling back a little so that she can see Nicole's eyes.

"I don't want you to go either," Waverly softly says as she brushes a strand of Nicole's hair out of her face. "But… I know you have to."

"When can I see you again?" Nicole suddenly asks, not able to hold the question in any longer.

"When do you want to?"

"Truthfully?" Nicole poses, making Waverly raise her eyebrow as she waits in suspense. "Tomorrow… then the day after that… and the day after that…"

Hearing the sweet response, Waverly swoons just a little bit more before placing a chaste kiss on the redhead's lips.

" _Smooth talker_ …" Waverly teases once again.

"Only with you," Nicole assures. "In all seriousness though, when can I see you again?"

"I'll be in the city on Monday, doing research at the university," Waverly states, still feeling a little breathless. "I should be done around 2."

"Perfect."

Seeing the mega-watt smile on the younger woman's face after her reply, Nicole leans in and places a tantalizing kiss on Waverly's lips. Pulling away, she sighs loudly, not looking forward to saying goodbye.

"Okay… I _really_ have to go now, otherwise I'll just keep kissing you until I pass out from the lack of oxygen," Nicole finally says after a few seconds had passed.

"I don't see the problem," Waverly mischievously says back.

Shaking her head with a dimpled grin plastered on her face, Nicole places both of her hands on Waverly's face and kisses her so softly, but soundly… making the brunette's legs go weak.

"Goodnight, Waverly…" Nicole says barely above a whisper. "Thank you for a wonderful date."

"Thank you for saying yes when I asked," Waverly says dreamily. "Please let me know when you get home."

"Yes, ma'am!" Nicole utters in her Southern drawl once again, giving her a mock salute.

With one last delicate kiss to Waverly's forehead, Nicole turns around and walks back to her vehicle. As she hops in, starts the engine, and puts her seatbelt on, she looks back at Waverly on the porch and waves goodbye. Waverly waves back before unlocking the door and standing inside of the threshold. Once she sees Nicole leaving her driveway, she finally closes the front door and rests her head against it.

" _Best. Date. Ever._ "

* * *

As Waverly lies in her bed, she can't erase the blissful smile from her face. She had just had the most amazing date ever with the most incredible woman that she had ever met.

She really didn't want the night to end. Selfishly, Waverly would've _gladly_ invited Nicole to stay the night, but knowing that the redhead had to be up in a few hours for work, she fought the urge.

Also, Waverly wasn't entirely sure if she would've had the strength to control her hormones if she had asked Nicole to come inside her house, especially after that mind-blowing goodnight kiss they shared on the front porch.

Hearing her phone vibrate on the nightstand, Waverly quickly grabs it and unlocks it. Sure enough, it was the text she had been waiting for.

 **From Nicole:** _Made it home safely._

Smiling, Waverly quickly types out her response.

 **From Waverly:** _Glad to hear it! Thank you for skipping your nap so that you could spend the whole day with me :)_

 **From Nicole:** _I'm exhausted right now, but it was totally worth it. YOU are worth it._

Re-reading those words, Waverly's eyes get a little misty.

At that moment, Waverly knew that she was falling hard. Throughout their day together, they shared plenty of laughs, but... the real turning point had been their deep conversation during mini golf.

The fact that Waverly had so easily let her guard down and allowed herself to be that vulnerable with Nicole was eye-opening for the brunette. Maybe it was Nicole's protective nature or her empathetic eyes? Whatever it was, Waverly felt safe enough to expose that tragic part of her past to the redhead.

Initially, she felt that her rambling would get annoying and that the heaviness that had descended upon their casual chat would scare Nicole away... but it didn't. Nicole was still there and showed her vulnerability right back to Waverly, letting her know that she was not alone.

To be with someone that was so open with her about themselves and their feelings was truly invigorating... and also a little bit scary too.

 **From Nicole:** _Alrighty, I gotta go to bed now. I can't wait to see you again on Monday._

 **From Waverly:** _Same here. Sweet dreams, Cole!_

 **From Nicole:** _They'll be filled with you so they'll definitely be sweet ;)_

 **From Waverly:** _Such a romantic (heart eyes emoji). Now go to bed!_

 **From Nicole:** _Yes ma'am (GIF of Captain America saluting)_

Waverly giggles, putting her phone back down on the nightstand as she gets up from her bed and makes her way into the bathroom to start her nightly routine.

In all of her excitement when she first got home, Waverly immediately came barreling into Chrissy's room, re-capping her date with Nicole. Chrissy couldn't remember the last time she had seen her best friend this happy… _ever_. She was so ecstatic for Waverly and gushed right along with her during the cute parts of her story.

After talking Chrissy's ear off for the past half hour or so, Waverly finally made it to her bedroom and just plopped onto her bed. She had been in that position, smiling up at the ceiling, when Nicole had texted her to let her know she made it home.

Waverly was so caught up in everything Nicole that she had forgotten to brush her teeth and wash her face before lying down, and so, she was doing that now.

Once Waverly enters her bedroom again, she quickly changes out of her clothes and puts on her pajamas. Just as she's throwing her dirty clothes into the hamper and about to crawl back into bed, she hears her phone vibrate again.

Picking up her phone, she sees 2 new messages from Nicole.

 **From Nicole:** _One last thing..._

 **From Nicole:** _My two favorite girls_

Attached to the second text was the picture of Waverly and CJ that Nicole had taken at her apartment earlier that day.

 **From Waverly:** _OMG! That is adorable! How did I not know about this pic?_

Nicole responds with a GIF of the butler from _**Mr. Deeds**_ saying, "I'm very, very sneaky".

 **From Waverly:** _I can see that. It's a great pic._

Waverly holds for a second, debating on if she should send an additional message, revealing her current thoughts.

 _What the hell?! We've already spilled our guts out to each other tonight. No point in stopping now_ , Waverly thinks to herself.

 **From Waverly:** _The only thing missing is you (bashful smiley emoji)_

 **From Nicole:** _Well then, we'll have to remedy that next time you're here ;)_

Sighing contently, Waverly is about to reply when she gets a new text from the redhead.

 **From Nicole:** _I'm really glad I met you, Waverly Earp. It has definitely been one of the best highlights of my life... so far._

 **From Waverly:** _I couldn't have said it better myself. You certainly are a wonderful addition to my life, Nicole Haught._

 **From Nicole:** _G'nite, Waves :)_

 **From Waverly:** _Until Monday... Goodnight, Cole (smiley emoji with sunglasses on)_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hey guys!

Happy Wynonna Earp Friday! How bout 301 and all that sexy fog?!

I know most of you in the States are probably watching 302 right now (which I'm about to start), but I wanted to make sure I finally got this update out to you. It's a lot longer than I had initially planned it out to be, but I figured you guys wouldn't mind. Sorry for all the angst-y parts that popped up, but I think they really helped to solidify the connection that Waverly and Nicole have formed so quickly. I really hope you enjoyed the cute moments between WayHaught. I would love to hear your comments and feedback, so if you have some time, let me know what you thought.

Thank you to everyone that has read the story, favored/followed it, and/or has left a comment. It really means a lot. And one last thing…

 **SEASON FREAKING 4, EARPERS!**

 **Songs Used:**

 _ **Call Me Maybe**_ by **Carly Rae Jepsen**

 _ **Tell That Devil**_ by **Jill Andrews**

 _ **In My Feelings**_ by **Drake** (honorable mention)

 _ **Never Be the Same**_ by **Camila Cabello**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own _**SyFy**_ , _**Wynonna**_ _Earp_ , or any of the characters mentioned in this story. Emily Andras is a genius and I'm simply just borrowing some of her characters (and dialogue) to entertain you guys.


	3. Feelings

After having the most amazing date with Nicole on Friday, Waverly couldn't stop thinking about the redhead.

Nicole wasn't doing much better either.

As they both anticipated getting to see each other again that following Monday, Nicole and Waverly did their best to maintain focus at their respective jobs. Whenever they had breaks or were off from work, they talked constantly through phone calls, texts, and video chats.

When Monday finally came, Nicole was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement while she counted down the hours until she got to see Waverly again. Jeremy playfully made fun of the redhead throughout the day and even joked about asking Waverly if she had a 'friend' that she could set him up with.

Although it was intended as an off-handed comment, Nicole stored that little nugget of info away for future use.

Once the clock struck noon, Nicole briskly clocked out, said goodbye to Jeremy, and eagerly made her way home to do some last minute housekeeping before Waverly arrived. She had pretty much cleaned her entire apartment from top to bottom the previous day, but the redhead felt that a little touch-up in the bathroom and living room areas wouldn't hurt.

After Nicole had finished scooping the litter box, feeding CJ, and vacuuming the living room, she still had about an hour to kill. Feeling a little gross from working a full 8 hour shift and then running around her place to make sure it was in pristine condition, Nicole felt that a shower was much needed.

20 minutes later, Nicole felt a lot better. As she walked out of her bathroom, toweling off her wet red hair, Nicole nearly jumped a foot into the air when she saw Waverly innocently standing in the doorway of her bedroom.

" _Hi_..." Waverly shyly whispers as she gives a small wave to the stunning redhead.

"Holy shit, Waves! You nearly gave me a heart attack," Nicole exclaims as she holds her hand against her chest and tries to regulate her breathing.

" _Sorry_... I guess you didn't see my last text?" Waverly rhetorically states as she slowly steps into the room further. "When you didn't answer the door after a few minutes, I got worried, so I let myself in. I hope that's okay."

Nicole found it endearing that the brunette was so concerned about her. In one of their previous conversations, Nicole had mentioned the hide-away key she kept in the plant outside of her apartment. She had told Waverly that she was welcomed to use it if she needed to gain access to her home for whatever reason; she just didn't think it would happen so soon.

Seeing the guilt-ridden look on Waverly's face, as if she had done something wrong, Nicole quickly throws her towel onto the bed and wraps her arms snuggly around the brunette. Waverly instantly melts into her embrace.

"It's fine, baby..." Nicole softly coos into Waverly's hair as she momentarily gets lost in the feeling of having the shorter woman in her arms again. "You definitely surprised me... but it was the _best_ kind of surprise."

Nicole looks at Waverly so tenderly; her eyes so open and honest. This was definitely something that the brunette was not used to, but she welcomed it with open arms.

"I'm just really happy that you're here."

"Yeah?" Waverly questions as she slightly pulls away from the redhead so that she can see her face.

All Nicole can do is positively nod her head as she lightly grasps the sides of Waverly's face and gently connects their lips. The spark of electricity she feels makes Nicole long for more. As their kiss deepens, Waverly tightens her grip around Nicole's waist. Feeling the dampness of Nicole's porcelain skin against her arms, Waverly suddenly remembers the redhead's state of dress — or _undress_ — when she exited the bathroom.

" _You're_ _wet_..." Waverly whispers out in between kisses.

"Huh?"

Nicole hears the words, but doesn't register the actual meaning behind them. She was trying her best to keep her head out of the gutter. Instead, she just keeps on kissing the beautiful brunette.

"You're _wet_ ," Waverly tries again as she lightly nibbles on Nicole's lower lip. "I'm guessing you were taking a shower and that's why you didn't hear me knocking."

"Damn... you're so smart," Nicole replies giddily as she plants one last kiss on Waverly's lips and then one on her forehead, just because. "Perhaps I should finish getting dressed?"

Waverly takes a step back and holds Nicole at an arm's length, raking her eyes up and down Nicole's toned physique as she stands in front of her with nothing on but some running shorts and a sports bra.

"I mean, you don't _have_ to..." Waverly says in a sultry voice as her eyes scan each of Nicole's individual abs.

"My eyes are up here, Earp..." Nicole teases as she hooks her index finger under the brunette's chin and delicately lifts it up so she can place a tender kiss against her lips.

"You got me," Waverly replies with faux guilt before countering back. "I'll be sure to remember that the next time I catch you staring at my legs... or my ass."

Nicole opens her mouth to retort such an accusation but then quickly closes it, knowing full well that her defense would be fruitless. It wasn't her fault that Waverly's golden legs looked like a goddess with those khaki short-shorts she decided to wear on their first date. It also wasn't her fault that Waverly's ass looked perfect, no matter what kind of bottoms she was wearing.

 _It's a top shelf ass_ , Nicole thought to herself before coming back to the present.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare," Nicole says in a panic as she begins to apologize profusely. "I don't want you to think that I'm some creep th—"

Waverly silences Nicole's worried mind with a soulful kiss that instantly soothes the redhead.

"I was just messin' with you, Cole..." Waverly says after they break apart, noticing Nicole's sigh of relief. "But just for the record..." The brunette starts up again as she leans forward to whisper into Nicole's ear, "... I like it when YOU stare at me; just _you_."

Nicole is at a loss for words. Everything about Waverly Earp made her body feel overwhelmed with emotion, but in the best kind of way. Slowly, Nicole tilts her head forward and kisses the shorter woman with such softness that Waverly felt like she was floating on air.

As Waverly lightly grips just above Nicole's waist, she can feel the redhead's body heating up. She loves the way Nicole feels against her skin and how soft and delicate she is when she kisses her. Letting her hands linger on Nicole's bare skin for longer than she expected, Waverly starts to feel a little warm now herself and decides that maybe it would be best if they both cooled down a little before she pushed things too far.

"Maybe you should put on some more clothes," Waverly states a little breathlessly as she pulls away from Nicole. "I'm gonna get some water and try to regain some self-control. See you in few minutes, ya?"

Nicole can't help but grin at the adorableness that is radiating off of the brunette right now. Clearly, Waverly was a little embarrassed about whatever thoughts were running through her head at the moment. Instead of teasing her about it and possibly making her feel even more self-conscious, Nicole just smiles back at her with that damn dimple on full display and easily says, "okay, Waves."

A few minutes later, Nicole exits her bedroom wearing some sweatpants and a t-shirt. She finds Waverly playing with CJ on the couch.

"Better?" Nicole inquires as she gestures towards her attire.

"For my sanity... yes," Waverly replies, causing the redhead to chuckle.

Nicole then takes a seat next to CJ and she and Waverly fall into an easy conversation. As they catch up on the events that took place earlier on in the day, all of the heat and sexual tension that was lingering in the bedroom previously seemed to vanish. The two women just genuinely enjoyed talking and learning more about each other so much and looked forward to spending some time together in person, now that Waverly was back in town.

For a brief moment, lust filtered through the air between them due to their incredible attraction towards each other. However, neither woman would let that deter the _emotional_ and _intellectual_ relationship that they were building into a solid foundation before anything more physical happened.

Besides... they had only gone on one date so far. Neither one of them were in a rush.

* * *

After chatting about miscellaneous topics over the next couple of hours, Nicole and Waverly feel their angry stomachs demanding to be fed. As Nicole prepares a small salad for them to snack on, she pulls out the ingredients she had purchased at the grocery store the previous day.

"What's all this?" Waverly questions.

"Well... I was looking up different recipes over the weekend and came across one for a vegan deep dish pizza," Nicole explains. "I thought that we could make it together."

Completely gob-smacked by Nicole's thoughtfulness, Waverly is taken aback for a moment.

"Is that okay?" Nicole asks after a beat, hoping that she hadn't upset the brunette.

"No, no... it's fine," Waverly says once she snaps out of her trance-like state. "You didn't have to go through all of this trouble."

"Waves... it's no trouble at all," Nicole promises as she tangles her fingers with the brunette's. "Veganism is something that you're really passionate about; it's a part of who you are."

Slowly, Nicole takes her free hand and hooks her index finger underneath Waverly's chin until their lips meet in a delicate kiss.

"... and I wanna know all there is to know about you, Waverly Earp."

Waverly grins as she leans in to plant another kiss on the redhead's lips. " _Smooth_ _talker_..." she says teasingly.

"Only with you, Miss Earp. Only with you…" Nicole replies with her deep, Southern drawl.

After the pair steal a few more innocent kisses, they finally get started on making their pizza. As Waverly preheats the oven, Nicole begins to measure out the ingredients needed to make the dough. Meanwhile, Waverly starts dicing the herbs going into the red sauce while Nicole chops up the vegetables going on the pizza. Once the dough had rested, the two ladies assembled the pizza and popped it into the oven. 25 minutes later, they were met with a delectable-looking pie.

Once the pizza had cooled down, Nicole and Waverly enjoyed their meal on the couch with a glass of sparkling white grape juice. After they were stuffed to the brim, they cuddled up while watching a movie.

As it got later in the evening, both women were dreading the part when they would have to say goodbye. As much as Nicole wanted to ask Waverly to stay, she felt it was way too early to make such a request. And as much as Waverly would've accepted the offer if presented, she also felt that it would be best if she just made the 45 minute drive home like she had originally planned.

Besides... if Waverly stayed, Nicole wouldn't really get to maximize her time with the brunette, seeing that she had to be up at an ungodly hour for work the next morning.

So instead, the two women just enjoyed what little time they had left before they parted ways.

"I like this..."

"Hmm?"

" _I like this_... being here with you," Waverly clarifies.

Nicole smiles to herself as she squeezes Waverly's hand and plants a kiss on the crown of her head through her brunette locks.

"I like it too, Waves; I like it too."

* * *

Over the next three weeks, Waverly and Nicole developed a routine.

On Mondays, after Waverly finished up with her research at the university, she would go over to Nicole's and hang out with her and CJ.

On Wednesdays, Nicole would drive down to Benson and hang out with Waverly (and sometimes Chrissy) at her place.

On Fridays or Saturdays (depending on Waverly's work schedule), both ladies would alternate who drove out to see who and then enjoy an early dinner at one of the local restaurants before returning to their respective homes.

It was during their latest Monday hang out that the topic of Nicole meeting Waverly's family was broached.

"You okay?" Waverly carefully questions as she and Nicole were lounging on the couch with CJ snuggled in between them. "You've been pretty quiet since dinner."

Nicole takes a second to consider her response. She knew that Waverly would eventually ask her if she was alright since she was very smart and observant; however, the redhead still wasn't sure if she was just overthinking things and/or reading too much into an issue that really wasn't there.

In the end, Nicole decided to just be honest and put her insecurities aside.

" _Do you not want me to meet your family_?"

The question is said so quietly that Waverly barely heard it.

"Cole?!" Waverly exclaims worriedly as she moves closer to the redhead, taken aback by the inquiry. The sudden movement scares CJ off the couch and down the hallway. "What would make you think that?"

As Waverly brushes some of Nicole's hair away from her face, she then lightly strokes the redhead's cheek, trying to catch her eye.

"It's just that... you've told me all of these entertaining stories that makes me excited to meet them in person, but I haven't yet. Not even one of them, besides Chrissy," Nicole begins to explain. "We've been seeing each other for about a month now and it's been really amazing, but... maybe you don't feel the same?"

Nicole takes a chance and finally locks eyes with the brunette. As much as she hated sounding so needy in this moment, she also knew that being fully transparent with Waverly was the only way to resolve this uneasy feeling that had been festering inside of her.

"Baby... no, it's not that at all," Waverly states with conviction as she grasps Nicole's face in her hands and kisses her chastely. " _Of course_ I want you to meet them. I talk about you all the time," she bashfully admits.

Truth be told, Waverly had been asked the exact same question by all of her friends and family at some point since she and Nicole started dating. At first, Waverly brushed it off as it being too early in their relationship for that, but as the weeks went by and her connection to Nicole grew stronger, she could no longer fall back on that lame excuse.

Feeling the lull in their conversation, Nicole removes Waverly's hands from her face and tangles their fingers together.

"Look, Waves... I'm not trying to pressure you or push you if this is too fast," Nicole tries to clarify. "I know if my parents lived closer, I would probably be a little hesitant for you to meet them, but not because of you."

Waverly looks at Nicole curiously, waiting for her to continue.

"I know I don't talk about my family a lot; I just don't have the same relationship with them like you do with yours," Nicole starts again. "Don't get me wrong... they're nice people, but they can be very judgmental. That's why we're not particularly close."

"Do they have a problem with you being gay?"

"Surprisingly, no. They were more disappointed about my career aspirations," Nicole answers. "It only pissed them off more when I didn't move back home after the whole policing thing didn't work out."

"Sounds like they had a lot in common with Shae."

Nicole chuckles. "Yeah, they adored her. They thought she would be the one to finally open my eyes to my 'foolish' dreams," the redhead admits. "Needless to say, they were also disappointed when I informed them that we had broken up. I'm pretty sure they blame me for that too."

All Waverly can do is shake her head in disbelief.

"I guess it's a good thing they live 1,000 miles away."

Nicole just shrugs her shoulders and smiles weakly at the brunette.

It was in this moment that Waverly realized something.

Although she was the one who had initiated the conversation, it was Nicole who had unknowingly made the younger woman feel better, despite her own insecurities about this particular situation.

Waverly didn't think she would ever stop being amazed by how wonderful Nicole was. Finally, she had met someone who treated her as an equal; who was incredibly thoughtful and genuine.

Waverly wasn't quite ready to leave her bubble of complete and total bliss just yet... but she knew that she needed to.

Although Waverly loved her family to death, the prospect of them being overly protective and possibly scaring Nicole away did not sit well with her. And even though she knew that her family had her best interests in mind, Waverly feared that their crazy antics would be too overwhelming for the redhead.

But still... she knew the only way to move forward with Nicole was to inform her of this little fear of hers.

"I'm _scared_ , Nicole..." Waverly whispers out.

"Of what?"

"This past month has been amazing, and that's because of you," Waverly attempts to explain. "Things are going well... almost _too_ well, so I guess I'm just waiting—"

"... for the other shoe to drop?" Nicole states, finishing the brunette's sentence.

"Exactly," Waverly confirms. "Things like this — _good_ things — don't usually happen to me."

"But what does that have to do with your family?"

"You meeting them makes this real, and in my experience, it's only a matter of time before something bad happens... and you leave," Waverly bravely replies. "You are _so_ important to me, but the prospect of you meeting my family scares me because they can be a bit much at times. They can be absolutely crazy. And by crazy... I mean _Wynonna_."

Nicole lightly laughs to herself at the brunette's last remark. Meanwhile, Waverly takes a long, deep breath to settle herself before finishing her spiel.

"I don't want them — or _anything_ else, for that matter — to scare you away."

"Waves, _baby_..." Nicole delicately says as she slides down from the couch so that she is kneeling directly in front of the younger woman. "I'm not going anywhere... unless you tell me to," she assures. "Where you go, I go..."

Overcome by her emotions, Waverly lunges forward and captures Nicole's lips in a passionate kiss that leaves them both wanting more. The sudden force of Waverly's actions caught the redhead off guard, making her lose her balance so that her back is now flat against the carpeted floor.

The two young adults would've gladly continued exchanging languid kisses if it wasn't for a puffy feline that was feeling a bit left out.

"CJ... get outta here," Nicole playfully scolds as she attempts to shoo away her cat from chewing on Waverly's beautiful tresses. Once Calamity Jane finally takes the hint, Nicole focuses her attention back on the brunette. "Are we okay?"

Waverly nods as she softly kisses Nicole again.

"I'm sorry for making you feel like that. It was never my intention," Waverly apologizes. "I just really, _really_ like you."

"I like you too, Waves. And whenever you're ready for me to meet them, I'll be ready," Nicole supplies.

"How about Wednesday?"

"As in _this_ Wednesday? Wednesday that's like two days from now?" Nicole questions, just to be sure.

"Yes, _that_ Wednesday," Waverly confirms. "Instead of meeting at my house after I get off of work, why don't you meet me at _**Shorty's**_?"

"Are you sure? Like I said, I don't—"

Waverly silences Nicole's offer with another kiss.

"I'm sure."

Nicole looks deeply into Waverly's hazel eyes, searching for any signs of doubt. When all she finds is genuineness staring back at her, the redhead relaxes with a dopey grin on her face.

"Okay, then... it's a date."

Waverly smiles warmly at Nicole, happy to know that they were on the same page. She was very grateful that she could have an actual adult conversation about her fears and concerns and know that everything would be alright in the end.

Glancing down at her wrist, Waverly sees the time and is a little disappointed that she would have to be heading back to Benson soon.

"Is it that time already?" Nicole inquires although she could already tell by the brunette's facial expression.

"Unfortunately, yes."

As Nicole attempts to sit up so that she can get off of the floor, Waverly stops her by pressing her full body weight against the redhead, placing her arms on the sides of Nicole's head.

"We still have a few more minutes," Waverly lowly states as she begins to pepper tiny kisses across Nicole's face.

"Oh yeah... what did you have in mind?" Nicole responds, eagerly awaiting for the next kiss that the brunette places.

"Well... I was thinkin' we could make out for the next five minutes," Waverly bluntly states, leaving no room for misinterpretation.

As Nicole wraps her arms tightly around Waverly's waist, she gets a smug look on her face.

"I like the way you think, Earp."

* * *

As Nicole pulls up outside of _**Shorty's**_ , she feels a little anxious. Although she had been wanting to meet all of the people that Waverly spoke so fondly of, she also wanted to make a good first impression. Nicole wouldn't go as far as changing her personality or any other key element to make Waverly's family like her; however, whatever they thought of her was a big deal.

Nicole saw a bright future with Waverly and now that she was about to meet the most important people in the brunette's life, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

" _Here goes nothing_ ," Nicole mumbles to herself as a half-hearted pep talk, taking one last deep breath before stepping out of her car and entering the saloon.

Taking in the atmosphere and the decorations that just screamed the Wild West, Nicole hums in appreciation. As she scans the bar, her smile widens as she spots Waverly wiping down one of the booths in the back corner.

It was nice to see Waverly in her work environment, especially wearing those high-waisted jeans with her red and blue _**Shorty's**_ raglan tee that was tied off at her midriff.

Just as Nicole was about to approach the brunette to say hello, she noticed the look on Waverly's face. Even though Nicole could only see her side profile, it was pretty clear that the expression on Waverly's usually angelic face was not currently a pleasant one. As the redhead takes a step forward, she observes a man with tattoos up and down his arms talking to the brunette.

Well... _he_ was talking, but Waverly didn't seem like she was really listening. If anything, the younger woman looked annoyed.

"C'mon, babe... I didn't know she was your sister," Nicole overhears the man say.

This seems to irritate Waverly even further as she throws down the rag that she was using to clean the table.

"Do **NOT** call me that!" Waverly warns as she points at the tattooed man. "And really, Champ... you think that makes it any better that you didn't know you were hitting on my sister?! You're nothin' but a dog."

As Waverly snatches the rag off the table, she brushes passed the man and heads back towards the bar. Unfortunately, Champ was following closely behind.

"I said I was sorry," Champ pleads as he tries to grab Waverly's hand. She quickly pulls away. "C'mon, babe... y'know we had some good times."

"Oh my God! You don't listen... **EVER**!" Waverly says exasperatedly. "Just leave me alone. We're done, Champ; we have been for a long time. Move on."

Although Waverly was clearly unhappy about her ex's sudden appearance and his lame attempt to win her back, she handled herself calmly and professionally.

After all, she was still at work.

For her part, Nicole wanted to jump right in and help Waverly out, but she also didn't want to overstep any boundaries. Waverly was tough and could hold her own.

On the other hand... even though Waverly's closest friends and family knew about her and Nicole dating, that didn't mean that everyone else in this small town did... let alone her _super-terrible_ ex.

The last thing Nicole wanted to do was to inadvertently 'out' the brunette, especially if she wasn't ready.

"You know you'll never find someone better than me in the sack," Champ brags. "Let's sneak upstairs to your old apartment and I'll prove it to ya."

As Champ steps a little too closely into Waverly's personal space, he dips his head and tries to kiss her.

Watching this happen from afar makes Nicole's blood boil; however, she restrains herself.

"No, Champ!" Waverly sternly states as she pushes the tattooed man away. "For the last time... we're done! Order something or fucking leave."

Nicole is torn. On one hand, she wants to beat the shit out of this jackass for trying to kiss her girlfriend(?); on the other hand, she feels incredibly turned on by Waverly's assertiveness and her use of the F word.

 _Focus, Nicole!_ The redhead quietly berates herself.

Clearly not that bright, Champ attempts to grab Waverly's arm again.

"Hey! We're not done here," Champ says forcefully as his hand wraps around the brunette's forearm. "Don't walk away from me."

Waverly tries to pull her arm away from the tattooed man, but he tightens his grip.

"Champ, you're hurting me," Waverly tells her ex as she tries to pry his fingers off of her arm. "Let me go!"

"No! I'm not going anywhere until we talk about this."

Before Waverly can say or do anything further, Nicole finally steps in, not being able to sit idly by in the background any longer.

"The lady said to leave her alone; I suggest you listen."

Hearing the redhead's voice, Waverly is surprised — since she wasn't expecting Nicole to be there for another 15 minutes or so — and relieved. Seeing that they now had a small audience surrounding them, Champ loosens his grip enough for Waverly to pull her arm away from him.

"We're just having a conversation here... a _private_ conversation," Champ tells Nicole as he puffs his chest out. "So why don't you mind your own business."

"I would gladly leave you to your private convo, but you kinda brought me into it once you started puttin' your hands on folks that don't want your hands on 'em," Nicole coolly explains.

Champ just stares at Nicole, completely dumbfounded.

"Whatever," Champ says dismissively. "Get lost dyke."

Nicole grits her teeth together, trying to maintain her calm and steady demeanor.

This wasn't her first encounter with an ignorant man-child trying to flex his muscle and use cruel words to try and assert his dominance. However, Nicole just really didn't want to deal with this type of bigotry, especially on her day off; a day that was supposed to be filled with smiles and laughter because she would be spending it with Waverly.

"Champ! What the hell is wrong with you?" Waverly asks, scolding the tattooed man.

"Nothin', I'm just trying to get this butch away from us so we can finish talkin'," Champ defends. "This ain't none of her business."

"Wow, Champ... I never knew you were such a raging homophobe," Waverly says disappointedly as she shakes her head. "And for the record, Nicole has every right to be here."

"Why?" Champ questions, clearly confused.

"Because, she's my..." Waverly pauses, taking a moment to look at Nicole in her green and navy plaid buttoned-up shirt and her dark-washed jeans. Waverly knew the word she wanted to say, but the look of pure and utter trust she saw staring back at her from Nicole's coffee eyes gave her the strength she needed to finally say them aloud. "She's my girlfriend."

Champ scrunches up his face as he looks back and forth between Waverly and Nicole, all the while shaking his head.

"Nah, you're lying," Champ says definitively, focusing solely on the brunette now. "I know you, Waverly. You're not like that."

"I have no reason to lie to you, but if you're lookin' for proof..." Waverly starts to say to her ex before turning to Nicole. "Are you my girlfriend?"

Although Nicole and Waverly had had several deep and meaningful conversations over the past month that they had been dating, the one topic they never discussed was the status of their relationship. They were both very committed to each other, but no one had ever _officially_ asked the question... until now.

Looking back into Waverly's hazel eyes, Nicole knew what her answer would be; she knew it from the first time their hands touched. This wasn't about putting her on the spot to help the brunette out of a jam; it was about an unspoken truth that was long overdue.

"Damn straight," Nicole immediately replies back with a dimpled smile and a wink.

"That's disgusting," Champ says with venom, aiming it directly at the redhead.

Not backing down one iota — and feeling extra confident with Waverly by her side — Nicole takes a step forward, putting herself in between her _girlfriend_ and the bigot standing before them.

"You know what I find disgusting?" Nicole states rhetorically. "An arrogant boy-man with _too_ much earwax built up, thinkin' that he's God's gift to women."

Champ's nostrils flare up as he balls his hands into fists as they hang by his side. Nicole carefully watches his every move, prepared to act accordingly if the tattooed bonehead decided to lift his fists into the air.

Seeing the tension building up, Waverly then steps in between Nicole and Champ to create a little distance.

"Hey Cole, why don't you go have a seat at the bar while I finish cleaning up?" Waverly poses to the redhead as she nods towards the opposite end of the bar where her Aunt Gus was now standing, looking on at the scene precariously.

Feeling uncomfortable and a little uneasy about leaving Waverly alone with her clearly unstable ex, Nicole lightly places her hand against the brunette's shoulder, silently asking, "Are you sure?"

Once she receives an affirmative nod in conjunction with Waverly's hand on top of hers, gently squeezing it for reassurance, Nicole slowly begins her retreat. However, before the redhead could make it to her seat, another commotion ensued.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Champ yells in Waverly's face. "You're not gay!"

"You know what, Champ?" Waverly begins, feeling the most irritated she's ever felt in her life. "You need to get outta my face and take your drunk ass somewhere else. I'm done."

"Or what?!" Champ challenges, grabbing Waverly's bicep. Before he can apply any pressure and possibly hurt her again, Nicole swoops in.

"That's it!" Nicole states as she swiftly snatches Champ's hand away from her girlfriend and twists it behind his back while roughly pressing his face against the bar top. "Since you seem to be such a slow learner, let me break it down for you..."

As Champ struggles against the bar top and tries to wiggle his way out of the redhead's hold, Nicole tightens her grip on his arm and applies a little more pressure against his face.

"When a girl tells you to leave her alone, you leave her alone. When a girl says _no_ , she means **NO**!" Nicole slowly explains. "And if I _ever_ see you puttin' your grubby, little callous hands on another woman without her consent... I won't be so nice."

" _Damn, that's sexy!_ " Waverly whispers to herself as she continues to watch the scene play out in front of her.

"So, you got two options: A) You can walk out of here on your own accord or B) I can _escort_ you out," Nicole says calmly, but firmly. "The choice is yours."

Once again, Champ tries to gain enough leverage to pop himself up and out of Nicole's grasp, but the redhead isn't having that. Every time the boy-man moves, Nicole just smashes his face further into the bar top.

"Alright!" Champ finally grumbles out. "I'll leave."

Once she hears the magic words, Nicole releases her hold on the tattooed man and takes a step back. Again, the redhead positions herself in between Waverly and her ex and makes sure that Champ has a clear pathway to the door.

After Champ stands to his full height, he shakes out his wrist and massages his right shoulder in an effort to loosen up the pain and stiffness that was still radiating there from Nicole's strong hold on him.

As Champ takes two sluggish steps towards the exit, he quickly turns around and throws a fist in Nicole's direction. Anticipating the cheap shot, Nicole dodges the sucker punch and replies back with her right elbow connecting to Champ's face.

"Ahhh! You bitch!" Champ yells out in pain as he stumbles backwards and covers his face with his hands. His eyes begin to water as blood starts rushing out of his nostrils.

After stumbling around for a few seconds, trying to find his bearings, Champ takes another run at Nicole. As he lunges forward in an attempt to tackle her, the redhead gracefully steps aside like a matador reacting to a charging bull. Using his momentum, Nicole pushes Champ as he passes by her, sending him crashing into a couple of bar stools before he hits the floor.

Once the boy-man is finally able to pick himself up, he feels embarrassed and angrier than before. As Champ wipes his bloody hands onto his ripped jeans, he spots Waverly off to the side, watching the entire scene play out with wide eyes. Something inside of him snaps as Champ sets his sights on the brunette now.

Seeing the new focus of his anger and frustration, Nicole intercepts Champ as he runs full steam ahead towards Waverly, yelling out random obscenities.

As their two tangled bodies slam into a nearby table, Champ lands a couple of weak blows against Nicole's back as he flails his arms wildly. As his attention is solely centered on trying to cause pain to the redhead, Nicole takes advantage of Champ's one-tracked mind and is able to deliver a swift leg sweep, bringing them both to the ground.

As Champ scrambles around like a fish out of water, Nicole is able to gain top position on Champ's prone body and leverages his right arm behind him while shoving her knee into his back and pressing his face against the cold ground. The more that Champ struggles trying to get up, the more pressure Nicole applies with her knee and the higher she cranks his arm.

"Look dude, I'm not trying to hurt you..." Nicole begins to say as Champ continues to struggle beneath her, "... but I need you to calm down."

"Fuck you!" Champ exclaims. "You stole my girl!"

"Waverly doesn't belong to anyone!" Nicole fires back, getting more irritated with the boy-man and his lack of respect for the brunette. "She's not a piece of property."

"Aargh!"

"Champ, please stop!" Waverly tries to reason with her ex. "You're just makin' things worse."

Ignoring all reason, Champ continues to yell and struggle on the ground, trying to break himself free, until he hears the unmistakable sound of a shotgun being racked.

Halting all movements from every patron in the bar, Nicole looks up to see an older woman with gray hair standing behind the bar, holding a shotgun.

"I've had just about enough of your shit, Hardy..." the woman grunts out. "The Sheriff will be here shortly."

"Ah, c'mon Gus... you know I would never hurt Waverly," Champ cries out as the pain in his face and his arm continues to radiate.

"We all know that's bullshit," a fiery brunette with dazzling blue eyes states as she joins the party. As Gus tosses her the shotgun, she then points it down towards the boy-man. "I'll take it from here, Red."

Shocked by this turn of events, Nicole dutifully listens and releases her grip on Champ as she slowly stands up.

"You finally picked a smart one, Babygirl," the woman says to Waverly, causing the younger woman to smile.

"Nicole... this is my sister, Wynonna," Waverly introduces.

"Sup," Wynonna responds with a head nod, seeing that her hands were currently occupied.

"Hey..."

"And the lady over there," Waverly states, pointing at the woman behind the bar, "is my Aunt Gus."

Nicole gives a small smile and wave towards the older woman.

"So, this is the family, huh?" Nicole says as she looks around the room and sees the regular patrons returning to whatever they were doing before the commotion broke out.

"Yup... well, at least a part of it," Waverly answers. "Do you get why I wanted to wait a little bit until you met them?"

"Hey! I resent that," Wynonna interrupts, feigning mild offense. Seeing the pointed look from her younger sister, Wynonna shrugs her shoulders. "Whatever, I'm awesome."

Before the Earp sisters can begin to bicker, the saloon doors open and in walks the Sheriff and one of his deputies.

"Afternoon Gus," Sheriff Nedley says as he tips his Stetson. "Heard you were havin' a bit of a problem."

As Gus nods her head in the direction of where Wynonna was casually holding a shotgun pointed at Champ's back, all Nedley can do is shake his head.

"When did Hardy get back in town?" Nedley inquires.

"No idea, but I would really appreciate it if ya got rid of him, Randy," Gus responds. "Lord knows he's already caused enough turmoil to my poor niece. Now he's in here causing a ruckus."

"We'll take care of him," Nedley says definitively as his tips his hat again and then makes his way over to the boy-man still lying prone on the ground. "Earp... I think you can lower the weapon now."

"I don't know, Sheriff... what if this one starts gettin' squirrelly again?" Wynonna counters.

" _Wynonna_..." Nedley says in his gruff, authoritative voice.

"Oh fine!" Wynonna huffs out as she lowers the shotgun. "You're no fun, Nedley."

"I know," Nedley agrees with a hint of a smile. "Lonnie, why don't you escort Wynonna over there so you can get her and Gus' statement?"

"Yes, sir!" Lonnie replies as he does as he was told.

"Get up, Hardy..." the Sheriff says as he slides a chair next to the young man with blood still streaming from his nose. "What kinda trouble have you gotten yourself into now?"

"I didn't do anything, Sheriff!" Champ proclaims. "I was just minding my own business, talking to my girl, when this _lunatic_ came outta nowhere and hit me in the face."

"Seriously, Champ?!" Waverly says disbelievingly. "You're really gonna sit here and lie your ass off in front of the Sheriff?"

"She _did_ hit me!"

"Yeah... only because you swung at her first," Waverly corrects. "Nicole was just defending herself... and _me_ , from you!"

"Anything you'd like to add, Miss?" Nedley inquires, directing his question at Nicole.

"Nicole. Nicole Haught. And Waverly's right. She asked him several times to leave, but he wouldn't listen," Nicole explains while simultaneously introducing herself. "When he got physical with Waverly, I intervened. He took a cheap shot at me so I defended myself. Then he ran at Waverly like a crazy person, so I protected her. I'd do it again if I had to."

After hearing that last comment, Waverly just looks at Nicole in complete awe.

"You can ask any of these patrons 'cause they were all watchin' the show," Nicole adds in. "And if they don't wanna talk to ya, I'm sure you can get what ya need from any of these security cameras pointed towards this area."

As Champ looks up, he's dumbfounded by the cameras that he sees, clearly unaware of their presence. Waverly is surprised by Nicole's astute observation while Nedley looks impressed.

"Mr. Hardy, any chance you wanna revise your statement before I take you down to the station?" Nedley asks.

"What?!" Champ yells out as he violently stands up, flipping the chair over in the process.

Instinctively, Nicole pulls Waverly behind her and away from possible danger. Before his actions can escalate, Nedley grabs Champ's arm and twists it behind his back, much like Nicole did to him earlier. The Sheriff then pushes Champ into a nearby post while he slaps the handcuffs on the tattooed boy-man.

"I can't believe you're gonna listen to that ginger butch over me!" Champ complains as Nedley tightens the cuffs.

"Now you watch your mouth, boy!" Nedley firmly states. "You don't talk about women — or _anyone_ , for that matter — like that. Whoever this young lady may or may not be attracted to is none of your damn business. You pickin' up what I'm layin' down, son?"

Champ just rolls his eyes and huffs out. In response, Nedley cranks down on the silver bracelets slightly, causing the young man to yelp.

"I _said_ , do you understand, Mr. Hardy?"

"Yes, sir!" Champ grumbles out.

"That's more like it," Sheriff Nedley says as he turns his head and yells towards the bar. "Lonnie! Get Hardy outta here. I'll meet you back at the station."

As Lonnie appears, he takes custody of Champ and escorts him out of the saloon.

"You two okay?" Nedley questions, addressing the young couple. They both nod their heads. "Good. Now, I take it you're not from around here, Miss Haught?"

"Ah, no sir. I'm originally from Texas," Nicole responds. "I live in Tucson currently."

"Tucson, huh? That's a pretty decent size city. What brings you out here to the boonies?" Nedley curiously asks.

" _Uh_..." Nicole begins to say, but then stops. She then looks at Waverly, who has turned beet red.

Again, just because Waverly had told her ex that the redhead was her girlfriend, Nicole didn't want to assume or prematurely introduce herself as such unless Waverly was okay with it.

Feeling slightly embarrassed standing in front of the man that was like a second father to her, Waverly shakes off her nerves and delicately grabs Nicole's hand.

"Nicole came to see _me_ , Sheriff."

Observing the two young women's joined hands and replaying some of the comments Champ had made previously, a light bulb goes off in the Sheriff's head.

"Ahh, I see... well good for you, Waverly," Nedley replies before he focuses his attention back to the redhead. "It's nice to officially meet ya, Miss Haught. My daughter Chrissy is a big fan of yours; I can see why."

"That's very nice of you to say, Sheriff," Nicole responds, blushing a little at the comment. "Chrissy is a wonderful person and has become a good friend of mine."

Nedley gives one of his rare smiles towards the young couple before getting back into business-mode.

"I'm gonna go take a look at that security footage. Hopefully y'all won't have any more surprises this evening," Nedley says as he tips his Stetson and turns to walk away. "By the way… nice catch, Kid."

"Thanks. Oh, and Sherriff?" Nicole says before he's completely out of earshot. "You might wanna get Champ's nose checked out… I'm pretty sure it's broken."

"Will do," Nedley replies with a head nod.

* * *

As they watch the Sherriff walk away, Waverly pulls Nicole in the opposite direction towards a partially hidden staircase. As they make it to the top and pause in front of the first closed door they come across, Waverly pulls out a key from her pocket and unlocks the door. Once they enter what appears to be a tiny apartment above the bar, Waverly quickly shuts and locks the door before slamming Nicole's back into the wall and kissing her like there's no tomorrow. Nicole welcomed the passion displayed with each kiss Waverly laid upon her lips, but as things between the two ladies started to get a little too hot and heavy, Nicole breaks away from their intense make out session and stalls Waverly's hands from traveling any further up her shirt.

"Whoa whoa, slow down there Waves," Nicole says a little breathlessly. "What's goin' on? This isn't like you."

Waverly wasn't quite sure what had just come over her, but she knew it wasn't fair to just throw herself at Nicole without some sort of explanation.

"I... I don't know..." Waverly says after a beat, shaking her head at herself before resting her forehead against the redhead's shoulder. "I thought he was gonna hurt you..."

"Hey... hey... look at me," Nicole coos into Waverly's ear before she places a delicate kiss to the side of her head. "I'm fine, baby."

As Waverly leans back a little to look at Nicole's face, she notices the blood stains around the collar and torso area of the redhead's shirt.

"Oh my God! You're bleeding!" Waverly exclaims as her eyes widen and her breathing spikes.

Before she can freak out any further, Nicole gently grabs Waverly's face and forces the brunette to focus on her eyes.

"Waves, listen to me. I'm fine; it's not my blood," Nicole slowly says, trying her best to reassure the brunette. "I'll probably be a little sore tomorrow and have a couple of bruises, but other than that, I'm fine. I promise."

As Waverly takes a second to absorb Nicole's words and give her a once over, she lets out a strangled breath that she didn't know she had been holding.

" _It's not your blood_..." Waverly whispers to herself as she analyzes each speck of blood littering Nicole's button-down shirt.

"It's not my blood."

Waverly briefly looks up to catch Nicole's eyes. "Prove it," she lightly commands, needing something more concrete than words to ease her worries.

Nicole's facial expression morphs from confusion to clear understanding as she nods her head. Slowly, Nicole begins to undo her shirt. Once she reaches the last button, she opens her shirt wider, revealing the teal tank top that had been previously hidden underneath.

"Take it off," Waverly gently asks. Dutifully, Nicole agrees and removes the button-down shirt.

Again, Waverly studies Nicole's porcelain skin, looking for any blemishes. As she comes across some redness on the redhead's upper right arm, she lightly traces it with her fingers. Waverly then continues her path downward until she reaches the bottom of Nicole's tank top. As Waverly slowly lifts it up to just below the contours of the redhead's breasts, the makings of a nasty-looking bruise on her right rib cage and lower back was revealed.

" _This is my fault_..." Waverly disappointedly states as her eyes begin to water.

"No, it isn't," Nicole says firmly, using the pads of her thumbs to wipe away the unshed tears. "This is nobody's fault except for that dickhead. You did nothing wrong, Waves. And I will gladly wear this bruise with honor, knowing that he didn't hurt you."

Waverly just shakes her head. "Why are you so good to me?"

"I think the more important question is... why are you so surprised?" Nicole counters back. "Honestly, I haven't done anything special, Waves. I'm just treating you the way you deserve to be treated."

"But do I? I mean, just look at today. What was supposed to be a chill day with you meeting my family has turned into a complete shit show!" Waverly angrily states as she starts pacing back and forth. "And to make things worse, the first thing that pops into my head afterwards is to drag you up here and try to jump your bones? Seriously, what the hell is wrong with me?!"

Although the question was rhetorical, Waverly had expected at least some sort of response from the redhead. When she finally breaks her stride and glances at her girlfriend, she's surprised to see Nicole fighting extremely hard to suppress a smile.

"Cole, this isn't funny!" Waverly cutely pouts.

"No, not at all," Nicole quickly replies with a stern expression. However, her ploy doesn't last long as Waverly spots her famous dimple breaking through her stone cold facade.

"You're such a bad liar."

" _I know_..." Nicole softly agrees as she takes a step into the brunette's personal space, lightly wrapping her arms around her waist. In return, Waverly wraps her arms around Nicole's shoulders and rests her head there. "You're so freakin' adorable right now."

"How can you still think that after everything that's happened within the last 30 minutes?" Waverly questions. "I'm such a mess."

"You're not. We all have baggage, Waves..." Nicole frankly states as she begins to softly stroke the younger woman's back with her hands. "It sucks that some of yours showed up today, _unannounced_ , in the form of your shitty ex-boyfriend... but he's gone now."

As Waverly's body relaxes into Nicole's, the redhead gently continues on.

"I know it may not have been the _ideal_ way of me meeting your family, but we can't change that now," Nicole coos. "The most important thing now is that _you're_ okay... and apparently, we're girlfriends?"

Waverly pulls back her head so fast that she almost gave herself whiplash.

"I meant it!" Waverly rushes out. "I know we haven't exactly talked about it and it probably seems like I only said it to make Champ jealous, but—"

Before Waverly could finish her adorable rant, Nicole silences her with a passionate kiss that makes the brunette's knees weak.

" _I know, baby_..." Nicole says with bated breath as their lips untangle themselves. "Honestly, I've been wanting to make it official for a while now, but I didn't want to rush you or put any unnecessary pressure on you."

" _Always so thoughtful_..."

"I'm serious, Waves... I've never felt this strongly for someone so fast," Nicole shyly admits. "Am I crazy?"

A ghost of a smile plays on Waverly's lips as her mind flashes back to the first conversation she ever had with Nicole, via text message. Waverly recalls feeling utterly insane for not being able to stop thinking about the redhead after their initial meeting and asking Nicole the same exact question.

"No, not at all," Waverly promises as she delicately grabs Nicole's face and plants a chaste kiss to her lips before resting their foreheads together. "I feel it too."

" _Good_..." Nicole whispers out before remembering something crucial that the brunette let slip out during her previous outburst. "So, about this whole 'jumping my bones' situation..."

"Oh, God!" Waverly whines out as she buries her head into Nicole's body. "Did I really say that?"

"Yeah... you did," Nicole teasingly confirms. "And as exciting as that sounds... I think we both know this isn't the right place nor time for it."

"You're right; I don't know what I was thinking," Waverly dejectedly states as she looks down, embarrassed by her actions.

"Hey... there's no need to rush this," Nicole softly says as she hooks her finger under the brunette's chin so that their eyes could meet. " _This_..." Nicole pauses as she gestures between their bodies, "... is special. We'll do this on your time table; when _you're_ ready."

"But what about you?" Waverly genuinely ponders. "We're a couple; you should get a say in this too."

"Given who your ex is, I'm assuming that sex was probably fun, but more about fulfilling _his_ needs... not yours. Am I right?" Nicole carefully inquires. In response, Waverly non-committedly shrugs her shoulders. "Is it also safe to assume that you've never been with a woman before?"

Again, Waverly just shrugs.

Although this really wasn't a surprise to the redhead, Nicole wanted to make sure that her girlfriend knew that she was in no way trying to make her feel bad or embarrassed about her inexperience with women.

"That's fine, baby. The point I'm trying to make is this..." Nicole begins to lay out. "Even though our hormones may be kickin' in and screamin' at us to fall into bed together, there is _so_ _much_ _more_ I wanna learn about you before that happens."

Nicole briefly pauses as she tucks a rogue strand of hair behind the brunette's ear.

"I'm in this for the long haul, Waves..." Nicole starts again. "I wanna know your heart and your mind _intimately_ before I even _begin_ to get to know your body more physically."

At this point, Waverly is at a complete loss for words.

In the 3 years that she had spent with Champ, Waverly had never felt so cherished and understood. Their whole relationship was based on his wants and needs; never hers. Reflecting back on it now, Waverly knows that she was a fool for staying with that tattooed moron for so long, but she honestly believed that she didn't deserve better.

But now, standing here with Nicole looking at her with the most angelic and genuine expression... Waverly knew that all of the suffering she went through with Champ was worth it because it brought her to this moment.

"So… whenever you're ready, I'll be ready too," Nicole concludes.

"What if I said I was ready now?" Waverly challenges with a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"Did you not hear a word I just said?" Nicole chuckles out, placing a light kiss on the tip of Waverly's nose. Deciding to play along with her girlfriend's game, she replies to her inquiry. "And to answer your question… I wouldn't believe you."

Waverly's mouth immediately falls open with a 'how dare you?!' expression.

"I am _highly_ offended," Waverly says, feigning how appalled she was.

"No you're not."

"No, I'm not... but I could be," Waverly cutely replies.

" _God, I love your smile_..." Nicole thinks to herself, but doesn't realize that her words were said audibly until she sees the amazed look on the young brunette's face. "I totally said that out loud, didn't I?"

" _A little bit_..." Waverly whispers back as she motions with her thumb and index finger, causing the redhead to playfully roll her eyes. She then leans into Nicole, close enough so that she can feel the redhead's hot breath on her lips. "I love how open and honest you are."

"I _always_ wanna be honest with you..."

As Nicole and Waverly lean forward, their lips meet in a soulful kiss that they easily could get lost in. Although they both are craving more, they decide that it would be best if they returned downstairs... before someone — _i.e. Wynonna_ — came looking for them.

" _Wait here_ ," Waverly breathes out once they break apart. She then grabs Nicole's bloody shirt off of the floor and retreats towards the kitchen area, presumably where the laundry room was located. A minute later, she returns with a navy blue shirt in her hand. "I don't keep a lot of clothes here anymore, but I figured you could wear this in the meantime."

As Nicole unfolds the shirt, she reads the writing on the front of it aloud.

"Blue devils?"

"It was our high school mascot."

"Ah..." Nicole replies as she slips the shirt on over her tank top. "How do I look?"

"Amazing, as always..." Waverly says dreamily as she admires her girlfriend wearing a piece of her clothing. "Sorry if it's a little short on you."

"It's all good; luckily I have an undershirt on," Nicole replies as she winks at the brunette while simultaneously grabbing her hand and leading her over towards the door. "Shall we?"

With a positive head nod, Waverly opens the door and quickly locks it after they exit. Before they make their trek back downstairs, Nicole gently tugs on her girlfriend's hand to halt her movements.

"Hey, Waves?"

"Yeah?"

"Just one more thing..." Nicole says as she grasps Waverly's free hand as well. "I am so _happy_ and _proud_ to be your girlfriend."

" _Damn_... how did _I_ get so lucky?" Waverly ponders aloud as she wraps her arms behind Nicole's neck. Just as she's about to capture her girlfriend's lips, a familiar voice interrupts them.

"Yo, Babygirl... you up there?" Wynonna hollers from downstairs.

Slightly disgruntled, Waverly settles for a quick peck before she and Nicole emerge from the top of the stairs.

"Yeah, Nonna... I was just getting Nicole a clean shirt."

"Already wearing each other's clothes, huh? _Interesting_..." Wynonna teases the couple, making her sister blush. "Anyways, he was looking for you."

As Wynonna points over her shoulder, Waverly sees the 'he' that she was referring to.

"Daddy?" Waverly says as she instantly heads over to the older man decked out in full uniform, chatting with Shorty and Gus, unknowingly leaving Nicole behind. "What are you doing here?"

"Randy called me," Chief Earp replied, giving his daughter a hug.

"Figures."

"You sure you're alright?" Ward asks as he holds his daughter an arm's length away, giving her a once over for any bruises. "That knucklehead hurt ya?"

Gently grabbing her father's hands and removing them from her shoulders, Waverly responds. "I'm fine, Daddy. He grabbed my arm, but Nicole stepped in before he was able to do anything else."

As Ward looks passed his daughter, he finds the redhead standing sheepishly in the background, not wanting to interrupt their moment. Excusing himself, the Chief takes a few steps towards Nicole.

"You must be the young lady my daughter has been talkin' about non-stop," Ward casually states.

"Daddy!" Waverly exclaims as she covers her face with her hands, deeply blushing at her father's comment.

"What? It's true," Ward says nonchalantly as he shrugs his shoulders, enjoying his daughter's reaction.

"What are you even doing here? Isn't this out of your jurisdiction?" Waverly questions again, crossing her arms over her chest like a grumpy adolescent.

"I _literally_ work next door, in the neighboring city," Ward humorously replies. "Besides, I'm the Chief of Police… I do what I want."

As Waverly narrows her eyes at her father for his childish remark, she catches a lopsided grin forming on the lips of her girlfriend.

"Hey! Whose side are you on?" Waverly inquires, scolding the redhead.

"I'm sorry, baby… he's funny," Nicole explains, the smile never leaving her face.

" _Mm-hmm_ …" Waverly grumbles out, not impressed by her girlfriend _and_ her father ganging up on her.

"What? I _am_ funny," Ward agrees, much to his daughter's dismay. "Your girlfriend's a smart lady."

Hearing that comment instantly softened Waverly's demeanor. Given that she and Nicole had just officially became a couple less than an hour ago, it warmed her heart to know that her father already assumed as much and was totally okay with it.

"Forgive me; where are my manners," Ward suddenly says as he removes his Stetson and extends his hand towards Nicole. "Ward Earp… it's nice to finally meet you, Nicole."

"You as well, Sir."

"Thank you for protecting my little girl," Ward sincerely states.

"Of course. I wasn't gonna let that Neanderthal hurt her any more than he already has," Nicole responds with conviction.

"You got some nice moves, Kid," Ward adds in. When he sees the perplexed look on Nicole's face, he clarifies. "I saw the security footage. You could've done a lot more damage to that boy if ya wanted to, isn't that right?"

"Yes, sir..." Nicole simply answers.

"But… you didn't. You controlled yourself and your emotions. You used the necessary amount of force needed to subdue the suspect. Very impressive," Ward compliments. "You ever thought about a career in Law Enforcement?"

Knowing that this was a very touchy subject for Nicole, Waverly swiftly cuts in.

"Alrighty… I think that's enough chit-chat for now," Waverly quickly says, changing the subject. "Why don't we save some of that for dinner tonight, yeah?"

Taking the hint, Ward idly nods his head in agreement.

"Sure, sweetie… sounds good. I should be headin' back to Benson anyways," Ward slowly states, not wanting to make things any more awkward. "Again, it was nice to meet you Nicole."

"It was nice to meet you too, Chief."

"I'll see you ladies at 7 sharp," Ward says before kissing the top of Waverly's head. "Love you, Babygirl."

"Love you too, Daddy."

With one last smile and tip of his hat, Ward makes his way towards the exit. Once her father disappears outside, Waverly immediately grabs Nicole's hands.

"I am so sorry about that," Waverly begins to apologize. "Sometimes it's hard for him to turn cop-mode off and—"

Waverly's words die on the tip of her tongue as Nicole holds her index and middle finger against her lips.

"As much as I adore your cute little ramblings, it isn't necessary right now," Nicole starts to explain. "You didn't do anything wrong. Plus, I wouldn't expect your father to know why talking about police stuff is a sore subject for me."

"I know… but I'm still sorry though," Waverly mumbles out as Nicole removes her fingers from her lips.

"You're sweet," Nicole says as she gently kisses her girlfriend's forehead. "Now… why don't we _properly_ introduce me to the rest of your family?"

"I would like that very much," Waverly giddily responds as she pecks Nicole's lips and then proceeds to drag her over to the bar.

* * *

Waverly and Nicole stayed at the saloon for another hour or so, chatting with Gus, Wynonna, and Shorty. Once Doc and Dolls arrived for their shifts, Nicole was _properly_ introduced to them and made a little small talk with the guys before she and Waverly headed out towards the Homestead.

Once at home, Waverly banished Nicole from the kitchen so that she could prepare the big dinner she had planned for her family later on that evening. Much to the redhead's protests, Waverly assured her that she didn't need any help and that she just wanted her 'baby' to relax. Feeling pretty powerless whenever Waverly called her that, Nicole dutifully agreed and decided to catch up with Chrissy in the meantime.

After 30 minutes or so, Waverly joined them in the living room while their dinner was baking in the oven. As the three women chatted, Chrissy told them about her day and an encounter she had with this cute guy at the coffee shop. In return, Waverly updated her roommate on all the craziness that had ensued at the bar earlier. Chrissy was shocked to hear that Champ Hardy was back in town, but she was also thankful that Nicole was there to protect her best friend and put that loser in his place.

Slowly but surely, the other members of Waverly's inner circle — minus Doc and Dolls — arrived at the Homestead. To Waverly's surprise, Wynonna was the first to show up when she was normally known to be fashionably late. She even made an effort to help set the table.

"Okay... you're really freaking me out," Waverly confesses after the last piece of silverware is placed on the table.

"Why?"

"Seriously?"

Wynonna just shrugs her shoulders, genuinely confused by her sister's remark.

"You were early. You helped me set the table," Waverly begins to list. "You're not wasted. _And…_ you've been really nice to Nicole."

Waverly pauses for a moment, staring at her sister intently.

"Seriously, who are you?!"

"Relax, Babygirl..." Wynonna declares with a chuckle, hanging her arm loosely around the younger woman's shoulders. "I'm trying to set a good impression for your girlfriend."

Waverly immediately pops up a suspicious eyebrow.

"I just have a feeling that she's gonna be around for a while..."

Hearing those words leave her sister's mouth instantly relaxes Waverly. As she looks up and towards the living room, a soft smile tugs at the corners of her lips, seeing Nicole easily making conversation with the different members of her family.

"I hope so..." Waverly wistfully replies.

* * *

After everyone's stomachs were stuffed from Waverly's lasagna (vegan for the tiny brunette), they all settled in different areas of the Homestead, breaking up into smaller groups to converse. While Ward, Shorty, and Nedley talked shop outside on the front porch, Waverly, Wynonna, and Chrissy chatted on the couch about miscellaneous topics, including what would be a good gift for Wynonna to get Dolls for their upcoming anniversary.

Meanwhile, Nicole and Gus found themselves in the kitchen; the redhead clearing off the dinner table and loading the dishwasher (upon her insistence) while the older woman portioned out the apple pie she had made for desert.

"Probably not the day you were expectin', huh?" Gus comments as she finishes plating the last piece of pie.

"Definitely not," Nicole chuckles out. "But overall, I think it was a good day. I'm really glad that I finally got to meet all of y'all."

As Nicole loads the last dirty dish into the dishwasher, she closes it and begins to wipe off the stove and countertops. All the while, Gus observes her closely.

Gus had always been a great judge of character. Based on what she already knew about Nicole (through Waverly's gushing) and what she had learned for herself (through the incident at the bar earlier and her own interactions with the redhead), Gus had a good feeling that Nicole would seamlessly fit into their quirky little family.

However, with age comes wisdom... and Gus could tell that there was something much deeper hidden beneath the surface.

As relaxed as her body appeared to be, Gus could tell that Nicole's mind seemed to be running a 5k marathon.

"What's on your mind, Kid?" Gus gently inquires, breaking Nicole out of her inner musings. "Looks like you're deep in thought."

"Oh, sorry..." Nicole sheepishly replies. "I was just thinkin' about how nice all of this is. I'm not used to it."

"How so?"

"I come from a pretty small family and we're not really close," Nicole elaborates. "We never had family dinners or just hung out with each other because we enjoyed spendin' time together."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Gus empathizes. "When's the last time you saw your folks?"

"Christmas, last year..." Nicole responds. "It's kinda hard getting the big holidays off at my job unless you have high seniority or it just happens to fall on your scheduled off day."

"That must be tough."

"Eh... I don't mind. I get paid time and a half," Nicole says nonchalantly. "Plus, most of my co-workers are married and have kids so it's more important for them to get to spend the holiday with their families instead of me being back in Texas, sitting awkwardly across the table from my parents."

"Point taken..." Gus concedes as she picks up three plates of pie and balances them using her hands and forearm. Just as she's about to exit the kitchen and head towards the front porch, she stops and gains Nicole's attention. "Well Kid, I guess you betta start getting used to it. As far as I'm concerned... as long as you keep puttin' that smile on my niece's face, you're family."

And just like that, Gus disappears like a fart in the wind, leaving Nicole with a bewildered but satisfying look.

* * *

Once the pie had disappeared, everyone started to make their way home. Nedley, Shorty, and Gus were the first to say their goodbyes while Wynonna was already passed out in her old bedroom.

"I guess I should start headin' out too," Nicole somberly announces, but makes no effort to get up from the couch or remove her head from where it was resting on Waverly's lap.

"Yeah, you seem _really_ motivated," Waverly sarcastically replies, continuing to play with the redhead's locks with one hand as the other tangles itself with Nicole's fingers.

"Can you blame me?"

Waverly just shakes her head before leaning down to place a gentle kiss on Nicole's lips. As she sits upright again, an idea strikes her.

"What if you just stayed here tonight?"

The question catches Nicole off guard, making the redhead move from her very comfy position so that she could sit up and face her girlfriend properly.

"Uhh, yeah... I could do that," Nicole says a little hesitantly. Although she wasn't against the idea, this was the first time that the topic had been spoken aloud. "I can get Jeremy to check on CJ and then sleep in one of the spare bedrooms?"

Seeing the slight look of disappointment in Waverly's hazel eyes, Nicole prods.

"What?"

" _Nothing_..."

"Waves?" Nicole pleads, ultimately crumbling her girlfriend's resolve.

"I guess I was just hoping that you would stay with me... in _my_ room," Waverly slowly requests, studying Nicole's facial expressions. When she sees the redhead's eyes widen with surprise, Waverly further elaborates. "Not to do any funny business, 'cause you're right... we're not ready yet. But... I still wanna be close to you, especially after everything that happened today."

"No funny business?" Nicole reiterates, cutely raising her eyebrow.

Waverly chuckles while playfully bumping Nicole's shoulder with her own. In return, Nicole wraps her arm around the younger woman, bringing her head to her chest.

"I just wanna know what it feels like to wake up in your arms," Waverly bravely admits. "Is that okay?"

Nicole smiles to herself before placing a delicate kiss on top of Waverly's head. "It's more than okay, Waves. I want that too."

As Waverly snuggles deeper into Nicole's body, their private moment is short-lived once they hear heavy footsteps down the hall, heading in their direction. As the Chief comes into clear view, the two ladies slowly untangle themselves from each other and stand up.

"Sorry to interrupt," Wards says apologetically. "I'm gonna head home, Babygirl."

"Okay, Daddy. I'll walk you out," Waverly replies.

"I'm gonna go call Jeremy," Nicole says as she squeezes Waverly's hand. She then turns to Ward and extends her hand for him to shake. "It was nice meeting you, Sir."

"You as well," Ward sincerely states as he shakes her hand. "And please, call me Ward."

Nicole curtly nods and then heads towards the kitchen to make her phone call. Meanwhile, Waverly walks her dad outside to his patrol car.

"Thanks for dinner, kiddo."

"No problem," Waverly replies. "You sure you don't wanna crash here?"

" _Positive_ ," Ward sadly states. "It's just not the same without your mother here."

Waverly sympathizes with her father, knowing that it was still a little difficult for him to be in the same house that he used to share with his wife.

During the years when Ward had plummeted into a drunken spiral of grief, his first step to recovery was to completely remove himself from the Homestead. With his wife and eldest daughter gone, Ward couldn't co-exist in their home where there were constant reminders of the loved ones that he had lost.

Although a lot had changed in the 11 years that had passed since their deaths, Ward still found it hard to be at the Homestead; however... he made an exception whenever they had family dinners there. Even though he couldn't bring himself to live there ever again, Ward was happy that the Homestead stayed in the family and had made a nice home for Waverly and Chrissy.

"I can see why you like her," Ward says after a long period of silence had fallen over them. "And I apologize again if I made Nicole feel uncomfortable with anything I said at the bar earlier."

"You're fine, Daddy. You didn't do or say anything wrong," Waverly attempts to explain. "Law Enforcement is just a bit of a sensitive subject."

"Am I allowed to ask why?" Ward treads lightly.

Waverly loudly exhales. "I wish I could say, but it's not my story to tell."

"I respect that," Ward states, pondering over this bit of information. "Nicole has a degree in Criminal Justice, right?"

" _Yeah_..." Waverly slowly replies.

"Does she have any hobbies, like boxing or marital arts?"

"She does kickboxing and studies judo," Waverly answers, eyeing her father curiously. "Why?"

"What? I'm just trying to learn more about your girlfriend," Ward says, feigning innocence. "Is that a crime?"

" _Mm-hmm_..." Waverly hums skeptically as she hugs her father, knowing that he was up to something. "Let me know when you get home."

As Waverly kisses her father's cheek, Ward steps into his patrol car and shoots a wink at his youngest daughter.

"Sure thing, sweetie..." the Chief replies. "Now, go on. Don't keep that lovely young lady waiting on my account."

Waverly smiles and nods her head. "Love you, Daddy."

"Love you too, Babygirl."

With one last parting smile, Ward closes his car door, starts the engine, and drives away from the Homestead. As his taillights fade into the darkness, Waverly turns around to head back inside. There awaiting for her on the front porch stood Nicole; her eyes sparkling under the moonlight.

"Everything okay?" Nicole asks as Waverly falls into her open arms.

"Yeah. How 'bout you?" Waverly questions. "I hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience for Jeremy to check on CJ."

"Not at all," Nicole assures. "In fact, 'Uncle' Jeremy sounded pretty excited. I wouldn't be surprised if he's still at my place whenever I get home tomorrow."

Waverly giggles at the comment, just picturing a long list of shenanigans that Jeremy and Calamity Jane could get into.

"Well, I'm exhausted," Waverly says after unsuccessfully trying to cover up a yawn with her hands. "Let's go to bed."

Nicole smiles and extends her left hand out towards her girlfriend.

"Lead the way."

As Waverly grins back, she connects her hand with the redhead's and lightly squeezes it before guiding them inside the Homestead to retire for the remainder of the evening.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hey guys!

I know this update is long overdue. I apologize for my absence. Between my work/personal life and writer's block, it's been a little difficult to find the time to sit down and just write. I'll be honest… this uncertainty of whether or not we're gonna get to see our favorite _**WE**_ characters in a Season 4 has depleted my inspiration. However, I'm trying my best to work past that and stay in the fight with all of you. For those of you still out there reading, thank you for being patient with me; thank you for continuing to fight. I hope this extra-long chapter makes up for my absence. **#FightForWynonna**

 **Happy Pride Month!**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own _**SyFy**_ , _**Wynonna**_ _**Earp**_ , or any of the characters used in this story. Emily Andras is a genius and I miss her and this show so freakin' much.


	4. When You Know

_**A month later...**_

" _ **I stay out too late. Got nothing in my brain**_..." Waverly's sings aloud. " _ **That's what people say, mmm-mmm; that's what people say, mmm-mmm**_..."

" _ **I go on too many dates**_ _,"_ Chrissy chimes in, mimicking Taylor's chuckle in the song. " _ **But I can't make them stay. At least that's what people say, mmm-mmm; that's what people say, mmm-mmm**_..."

" _ **But I keep cruising. Can't stop, won't stop moving**_..." Kate picks up from the backseat.

" _ **It's like I got this music... in my mind, saying, 'It's gonna be alright,'**_ " Robin finishes from the third row of the Suburban.

" _ **'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play... And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate... Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake... I shake it off, I shake it off.**_ "

As the four friends continue to sing along in unison, Wynonna glares at each of passengers inside the vehicle.

"Yo, _Spice Girls_! You're killin' me!" Wynonna grumpily states as she removes the flask from the pocket of her leather jacket and takes a swig of the whiskey inside. "Are y'all gonna be like this the _entire_ time?"

"You didn't have to come, Nonna..." Waverly reminds her sister, briefly taking her eyes off of the road so that she could look at her in the rear view mirror.

"Like hell I didn't," Wynonna defends. "You know how protective Dolls is over his 'baby'. It was like pullin' teeth getting him to agree to let us borrow it."

"Then why aren't _you_ driving?" Kate comically questions from her seat beside the blue-eyed woman.

"Because _Xavier_ isn't stupid," Waverly says knowingly as she changes lanes. "He knew she'd already be half in the bag before we left Benson."

"Preach!" Wynonna shouts loudly as she raises her flask into the air before taking another sip of her whiskey.

As the other three passengers in the SUV share a laugh, Waverly just shakes her head at her sister's antics. She knew that Wynonna was dreading their venture into the city; however, she was very grateful that the older Earp was making the effort to be a part of the group.

"Anyways... Kate, I'm really happy that you could come out with us tonight!" Waverly excitedly states, addressing the gorgeous woman sitting directly behind her.

"Me too!" Kate giddily replies. "I'm really excited to finally get to hang out with you guys. Plus, you know I use any reason to sing."

"That I do," Waverly says with a smile. "What are the chances that you would run into Nicole on your last trip out?"

"I know, right?!" Kate agrees. "What a small world."

Being an airline pilot, Kate was very familiar with the Tucson airport since she flew in and out of there multiple times a month. She had seen Nicole in passing on various work trips, but it wasn't until a few days ago that she _officially_ got to meet the redhead.

* * *

 _ ***Flashback* – Sunday morning**_

As the checkpoint supervisor clears the last crew member at the Exit, the First Officer thanks them and makes their way towards Kate and the rest of their awaiting crew. Just as the crew is about to make their way towards their specified gate, Kate notices a TSA Officer with fiery red hair sitting at the food court.

"You guys go ahead; I'll catch up in a minute," Kate tells her team, waving them forward. As each of them blankly stare at her with confusion in their eyes, Kate internally shakes her head. "Guys... the plane's not gonna leave without me; I promise."

After an awkward silence fills the air for a few seconds, one of the flight attendants chimes in.

"Cause you're the Captain," he says humorously.

"Yes, Kenny... because I'm the Captain," Kate dryly agrees as she turns around and focuses her attention back on the redhead.

As Nicole shoots her girlfriend a quick text while waiting for Jeremy to return with their chili cheese fries, she senses someone approaching her table. Looking up from her phone, Nicole sees a female pilot walking towards her.

Immediately recognizing the woman from various photographs, Nicole stands up to greet the last member of Waverly's inner circle that she had yet to meet.

"Sorry to interrupt your break, but I figured it was about time that we finally met," Kate starts off as she extends her hand. "I'm Kate Holliday."

"I completely agree," Nicole says as she happily shakes her hand. "Nicole Haught. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Henry raves about you constantly."

"I've taught my hubby well then," Kate says jokingly. "Waverly does the same whenever your name comes up, which is _a lot_..."

Nicole begins to blush a little, not knowing how to respond.

"You are just adorable right now," Kate simply states, causing the redhead to blush even deeper.

Before Nicole's face turned into the same shade of red as her hair, Jeremy returns with their food.

" _Oh thank God_ ," Nicole mumbles to herself as her best friend joins them.

"Fries for you, m'lady..." Jeremy greets as he sets the food down on the table. He then looks over at Kate and his eyes nearly bulge out of his head. "Holy crap! You're even more stunning in person."

Jeremy quickly wipes his hands on his cargo pants before enthusiastically grasping Kate's hand to shake.

"I'm a big fan of yours," Jeremy says as he continues to shake the Captain's hand vigorously. "You're brown, beautiful, and a badass pilot! Doc's a very lucky man."

Kate tries her hardest to suppress the laughter that was just dying to escape. Meanwhile, Nicole just covers her face with her hands, clearly embarrassed by her best friend's fangirl outburst.

"Jeremy, right?"

Hearing Kate speak seems to break Jeremy out of the spell he was under. As his eyes widen, Jeremy quickly releases Kate's hand and slides his own into his pockets.

"I am so, _sooo_ sorry," Jeremy apologizes as he regains his composure. "I get easily excited."

Feeling slightly mortified and a little bit sorry for her bestie, Nicole steps in and tries to salvage this disaster.

"We've _both_ been very eager to meet you," Nicole comments, taking the focus away from Jeremy.

"That's sweet. I'm sorry that my crazy work schedule has postponed our introduction," Kate explains.

"No worries. We both know what that's like," Nicole says, gesturing between her and Jeremy. "So, where are ya heading to?"

"To Rochester, NY. It's a short trip so I'll be back in a couple of days," Kate replies as an idea suddenly strikes her. "Do you and Waverly have any plans for this week yet? I know you usually drive up to see her on Wednesdays."

"Nothing set in stone. Why, what were you thinking?"

"Well... I was thinking that we could do like a Girls Night or something," Kate proposes. "There's this great karaoke bar here called _**Margarita Bay**_ that my co-workers have been telling me about. I haven't checked it out for myself yet, but it could be fun."

"Sounds great! I'll talk to Waves, but I'm sure she'll be cool with it," Nicole happily states. As the redhead looks over at her best friend, she sees the down look on Jeremy's face. "Would you mind if I invited a friend?"

Catching on to Nicole's inquiry, Kate does her best to ignore the hopeful look now displayed on Jeremy's face.

"Sure. Who'd you have in mind?"

"My buddy Rosita. She works at the _**Starbucks**_ here," Nicole casually says as she sees Jeremy's facial expression fall from the corner of her eye. Deciding to end her bestie's current misery, Nicole wraps her arm around Jeremy. "And... I suppose _this_ guy too."

As Kate and Nicole share a laugh, Jeremy playfully pushes the redhead off of him.

"Not cool, Cole," Jeremy huffs out.

"I know. I'm a very bad person," Nicole states in a very robotic tone.

"Very funny," Jeremy says mockingly while Kate just smiles at the interaction between the two friends.

"Alright, then its set! I can't wait," Kate excitedly states. "I gotta get going, but I'll see you guys on Wednesday. Maybe we'll even be able to convince Wynonna to come."

"That would be a sight to see," Nicole chuckles back. "Safe travels, Kate."

As the Captain gives a salute to Nicole and Jeremy, they both wave at her as she disappears down the corridor, amongst the crowd.

" _Wow_... see really is in a class of her own," Jeremy gushes.

"Jer... is there something you wanna tell me?" Nicole questions as she leans in closer and conspiratorially whispers the next part. " _Are you secretly straight_?"

Not amused by his best friend's playful banter, Jeremy throws a plain fry at the redhead before popping another one (smothered in chili cheese sauce) into his mouth.

"I really hate you sometimes."

"I would find that a little more believable if you weren't currently grinning ear-to-ear," Nicole comments as she picks up a fry for herself.

"Shut up... you don't know my life," Jeremy replies, hardening his features.

"You're right..." Nicole readily agrees. "I just know that you're brown, beautiful, and a badass."

Hearing those words repeated back to him, Jeremy slaps his hand to his face.

"I can't believe I actually said that to her."

"I can't either! It was hilarious," Nicole bellows out in laughter as she pops another fry into her mouth.

"I couldn't help it! She's like _Captain Marvel_ … just without the super powers," Jeremy says, trying his best to defend his actions.

"Yeah… I can see that."

"Please don't tell Waverly," Jeremy pleads.

"I could say I won't, but I think we both know that would be a lie," Nicole sincerely says. "I can promise not to tell anyone else though."

"Fine."

As Jeremy continues to eat his fries and wallow in his previous embarrassing actions, Nicole sends Waverly a text, telling her about meeting Kate and the plans for later on that week.

" _Hmm_..."

"What?" Jeremy asks as he sees Nicole typing away.

"Waverly is onboard with karaoke night. However, she was wondering if she should invite her friend Robin," Nicole enlightens. "Apparently they're old friends from high school. He just moved back into town recently."

"Sure, why not? Won't it be a little weird for him though, hanging out with a bunch of girls?" Jeremy ponders.

"Well... _you'll_ be there," Nicole reminds.

"Yeah, but I'm an honorary member of the Girls' club," Jeremy says with a 'duh' expression.

"Duly noted," Nicole replies, trying her best not to laugh out loud. "According to my wonderful girlfriend, you and Robin have a lot in common."

"Such as?"

"Well… you're both nerds. You're the same age. You're both single. And you're both into dudes," Nicole casually lists before adding in one last thing. "Who knows... you two might hit it off?"

"Wait... are you two trying to set me up?"

"No, of course not..." Nicole starts to say, unconvincingly.

" _Mm-hmm_..." Jeremy replies with a raised eyebrow. "Call Waverly. I wanna see if her poker face is as bad as yours."

Feeling slightly offended by the comment, Nicole quickly brushes it off and was more than happy to oblige, knowing this meant that she would get to see her girlfriend's beautiful face.

Pulling up Waverly's contact info, Nicole clicks on the FaceTime button and awaits as the call connects.

Seeing Waverly's bright, bubbly face appear on her screen immediately makes Nicole's face light up like the 4th of July.

" _Hey baby!_ " Waverly excitedly greets. " _This is a pleasant surprise_."

"Hey Waves! Sorry to interrupt you at work…" Nicole starts to say, noticing the saloon in the background and Waverly's trademark _**Shorty's**_ t-shirt tied off at her waist.

" _No worries. I'm just helping Gus set up before we open_ ," Waverly explains. " _So, what's up?_ "

"Well… Jeremy wanted to ask you some questions about Robin," Nicole says. "He thinks that we're trying to set them up."

" _Gasp! Why on earth would he think that?_ " Waverly says very dramatically as her mouth hangs open and she holds her hand against her heart. " _I am_ _ **shocked**_ _and_ _ **appalled**_."

Jeremy then comes into the frame so that Waverly could see the unimpressed look on his face. He then looks over at Nicole with the same facial expression.

"You guys are the worst," Jeremy comments. "Like, seriously… you're _terrible_ at lying."

" _Isn't that a good thing_?" Waverly ponders.

"I think it's a _very_ good thing, baby…" Nicole agrees with her girlfriend as they exchange heart eyes.

Meanwhile, Jeremy makes gagging noises in the background. "You guys are disgustingly perfect for each other."

" _Aww… thanks Jer_!" Waverly and Nicole say in unison.

Although Jeremy acted like he was repulsed by their relationship, he was actually thrilled that Nicole and Waverly had found each other. He had never seen his best friend so happy before and Waverly was quickly becoming a very close friend of his as well.

"So, Waves… tell me about this Robin guy."

As Waverly spends the next five minutes giving Jeremy a cliff-notes summary about Robin, Nicole just sits back and smiles. She loved seeing the interaction between her best friend and her girlfriend. She also loved the fact that they had become fast friends and how everyone from both of their inner circles had seamlessly gotten along so well.

Even though it was still pretty early in their relationship, Nicole saw a bright future with Waverly. As happy as she was with the tiny brunette, Nicole also wanted that for her best friend too. Since she had never met Robin before, she didn't know for sure if any sparks would fly between him and Jeremy. However, Waverly was a very intelligent woman and if she thought they would make a good match, then Nicole was all in.

"Alright, we'll see what happens," Jeremy says as he hands the phone back to Nicole. "I'm gonna hit the restroom before we gotta be back on the floor. Bye Waverly! See ya Wednesday."

" _Bye Jeremy_!" Waverly replies back while waving at his retreating figure. " _So, what do ya think_?"

"I think we might have a potential couple to double date with in the near future," Nicole giddily replies before getting more serious. "I miss you."

" _I miss you too, baby_!" Waverly immediately responds. " _I can't wait to see you tomorrow_."

"Me either."

" _So… since I'm working the late shift on Tuesday, I was wondering if I could stay at yours tomorrow_?" Waverly slowly questions. " _We could have lunch after you get off from work and before I head back to Benson_?"

Nicole's face instantly brightens at the suggestion. "Yeah… I would love that."

" _Good. I was hoping you would say that_ ," Waverly says with her beautiful smile. " _Well, I know you gotta get back to work. Call me later_?"

"Of course. Bye, baby."

" _Bye, Cole_."

 _ ***End of Flashback***_

* * *

"So, Robin… how are you feeling?" Waverly inquires as she locks eyes with her friend in the rear view mirror.

"A little nervous, but otherwise okay," Robin replies.

"You know that we're not expecting anything to happen between you and Jeremy, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm just nervous to meet him and Nicole," Robin further elaborates. "From what you've told me, Jeremy sounds like a really great guy. It's just been a really long time since I've gone on a date, or anything remotely close to a date."

"You'll be fine. We're all just going to have a good time," Waverly simply states.

"And to get fucked up!" Wynonna crudely interrupts as she takes another swig of her whiskey.

"Yes… and apparently to do that, as Nonna so _eloquently_ put it," Waverly reiterates, causing everyone inside the Suburban to brust out into laughter.

"No pressure then," Robin joking adds in.

As the rest of the group continues on with their playful banter, Waverly gets lost in the current song playing on her music app.

" _ **I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you. Don't need no butterflies when you give me the whole damn zoo**_ ," Waverly softly sings to herself, thinking about her best baby. " _ **By the way, right away… you do things to my body. I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you…**_ "

"Damn! Haught to trot must be _phenomenal_ in the sack if she's got you singing like that, Babygirl," Wynonna casually states.

"Wynonna!" Kate says in shock as she slaps her arm.

"Hey! That's some good whiskey you almost made me spill," Wynonna argues with the pilot. "And, c'mon… I know you all were thinkin' the same thing."

"You are so inappropriate right now," Waverly sternly says, scolding her sister.

" _Hello_ … is this your first day meeting me?" Wynonna rhetorically asks. "I'm _always_ inappropriate."

"That's true," Chrissy reluctantly agrees. "So?"

"You too?" Waverly asks, flummoxed by her best friend's sudden interest in the more intimate details of her love life. "I thought you were on my side."

"I am, but… I'm also a little curious," Chrissy honestly replies. "From what you've told me and from what I've seen firsthand, Nicole is sweet, attentive, caring, and hot. _Literally_ hot. Like, it's in her name."

Waverly just looks at her bestie, flabbergasted by the admission.

"What? I'm single so I need to live vicariously through you," Chrissy simply explains.

"She does make a good point," Robin agrees. "I'm a little curious now too."

"Robin, really?!" Waverly says in astonishment. "I am _not_ sharing the most private, _intimate_ details of my relationship with Nicole with any of you."

"Prude!" Wynonna obnoxiously yells out.

" _This was a terrible idea_ ," Waverly mumbles to herself.

"C'mon, Waves… you know we're just bustin' your chops," Chrissy says after a beat.

"I'm not," Wynonna quickly disagrees. "I want the deets! Does the carpet match the drapes?"

"Oh my God!" Waverly exclaims as she slams on the brakes and pulls off the road into the emergency lane. "You know what, Wynonna… I'm just about sick of your shit. If you're gonna be rude and just a complete bitch all night, then I don't want you to come. In fact…" Waverly says as she unlocks all of the doors, "… get out. I'm not gonna let you ruin Girls Night."

"Geez, no need to get all dramatic on me. I figured you'd loosen up a bit since you've been getting laid on the regular now," Wynonna says off-handedly as she catches her sister's eye in the mirror. "Unless… you _haven't_ been?"

Frustrated, Waverly roughly massages her temples before taking a few deep breaths to calm down.

"Not that it's any of your business, but if you must know…" Waverly begins to divulge. "No… Nicole and I haven't slept together yet."

After hearing a chorus of various statements of disbelief, Wynonna just can't help but to implore further.

"Seriously?! Haven't you guys been havin' a lot of 'sleepovers' recently?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Don't tell me you guys just cuddle…"

"And talk," Waverly defends.

"Oh, Babygirl… have I taught you nothing?" Wynonna says as she shakes her head in disappointment.

"It's not like I haven't wanted to. I think she does too, but… we just don't want to ruin anything," Waverly tries to clarify. "Everything has been so great between us. Our connection is so strong and I think part of that is because we haven't jumped each other's bones yet. Our relationship isn't purely based on sex, which is so different from when I was with Champ."

"What you guys have is special," Kate says knowingly.

"Exactly."

"There's nothing wrong with waiting, Waves," Chrissy adds in.

"Yeah, it's actually kinda sweet," Robin states.

"Thanks guys," Waverly replies gratefully before looking back at her sister. "What, no smartass remarks?"

"Nope," Wynonna simply says while shaking her head. "And I'm sorry for what I said earlier. It's not my place to question or make fun of your relationship with Nicole."

"I appreciate that, Nonna. Apology accepted."

"Can I offer one last thought?" Wynonna carefully asks, knowing that she was already skating on thin ice. Once she gets a nod from her sister, she continues. "Do you think it's possible that the reason why you're content on waiting is because you've never _been_ with a woman before?"

Waverly is taken aback by the question, but she'd be lying to herself if she tried to deny that there wasn't some truth to it.

"It has crossed my mind…" Waverly cautiously admits after a beat. "I don't know what I'm doing. Like, what if I'm no good at it? What if I can't make _her_ feel good?"

As much as Wynonna wanted to make a joke about her sister oversharing, she recognized the vulnerability in her voice and appreciated how candid Waverly was being. Despite initially not wanting to discuss those types of details with the group, Wynonna knew it was better for the tiny brunette to not keep all of these thoughts and feelings bottled up inside.

"Nicole's crazy about you. Anyone with eyes can see that," Wynonna genuinely speaks. "You guys will figure it out together. Plus, Nicole doesn't strike me as the type of woman that would just leave you if you're terrible at sex."

"Geez, Nonna… thanks for the words of encouragement," Waverly states in a monotone fashion.

"Wynonna's right," Chrissy agrees.

"Of course I am," Wynonna smugly says, making her sister roll her eyes. "But, if she did do something like that… I will hunt her down and kick her ass."

"Good to know," Waverly says, thankful for sister's unwavering support.

"So, are we good?" Wynonna hopefully asks.

Grabbing her sister's hand and lightly squeezing it, Waverly smiles. "Always."

Waverly then checks the traffic flow before finding an opening to ease the SUV back onto the road. As they continue their journey to Tucson, Robin leans forward in his seat to gain Kate's attention.

"Are these gatherings always like this?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," Kate answers. "But if I had to guess, I'd say probably."

Kate's response causes everyone in the Suburban to laugh out loud.

"I really am sorry, Babygirl," Wynonna apologizes again. "But seriously… the way you look at Red sometimes, it's as if you know _exactly_ what she looks like underneath her clothes."

Waverly takes a moment to process her sister's comment before catching her eyes in the mirror.

"Who says I don't?" Waverly coyly replies with a smirk and a wink, causing the other occupants in the vehicle to hoot, holler, and whistle.

"My mistake… seems that I _have_ taught you well," Wynonna responds with a knowing smile.

With one last wink, Waverly focuses her attention back on the road as they all settle in for the remainder of the ride.

* * *

Once Waverly and the gang made it to the bar, they quickly found Nicole and company at a table near the back. After the necessary introductions were made, Nicole ordered a round of shots for the group to celebrate a fun night ahead.

Still reeling from all of the excitement on the car ride down, Chrissy was the first to volunteer to sing karaoke. As she nailed her rendition of " _All About That Bass_ ", the rest of the group settled in at their table as they cheered her on. After she was done, Waverly and Kate took the stage and delivered a very sexy but playful performance of " _Push It_ ", which was well-received by the crowd (especially by Nicole). Still needing to loosen up a bit, Robin decided to bite the bullet and go next. He figured that his nerves weren't going to cure themselves so he might as well have a couple of drinks and embarrass himself on stage before he worked up enough courage to talk to Jeremy.

After a very delightful reenactment of " _Never Gonna Give You Up_ ", Robin was feeling a bit more relaxed. As Rosita got up to make her way to the stage, Robin took her seat that was next to Jeremy.

"So… tell me a little about yourself," Robin finally says, breaking the ice after a pregnant pause.

Just as Jeremy is about to reply, he loses his train of thought as he hears Rosita's voice echoing throughout the surrounding speakers.

 _ **Said, "Lil bitch, you can't fuck with me if you wanted to" (ooh)  
These expensive, these is red bottoms, these is bloody shoes (ooh)  
Hit the store, I can get 'em both, I don't wanna choose (bah)  
And I'm quick, cut a fucka off, so don't get comfortable, look (ooh)**_

" _Oh. My. God_." Jeremy says in complete disbelief, mirroring the same expression on Nicole's face.

 _ **I don't dance now, I make money moves (wave, ayy)  
Say I don't gotta dance, I make money moves (ooh, ooh)  
If I see you and I don't speak, that means I don't fuck with you (ah)  
I'm a boss, you a worker, bitch, I make bloody moves (bags)**_

As everyone at their table is in shock and completely spellbound by this different side of Rosita, no one notices when the song is over and the Latina is back in front of them.

"Uh, guys?" Rosita questions, waving her hands in front of their faces.

Nicole is the first to come to, shaking off the trance she was in.

"That was… that was…"

" _Different_ … very, very different than what we were expecting," Jeremy finishes his best friend's thought.

"Yeah, sorry about that…" Rosita apologizes. "I've got a lot of anger built up, dealing with rude ass customers all day. I just had to let it out."

"That you did," Nicole slowly agrees.

"Was it too much?"

Before Nicole or Jeremy could reply, Wynonna comes barreling through the group with two drinks in her hand. "Dude! That was fucking awesome!"

"Aww, thanks Wynonna," Rosita replies while accepting the proffered drink, touched by the eldest Earp's words.

"No prob. Don't let these Sandys bring you down," Wynonna says while taking a seat at the table. Rosita joins her.

"Did your sister just make a _Grease_ reference?" Nicole whispers to her girlfriend.

"I think so."

"Should we be worried?"

"I think so…" Waverly states, repeating her previous answer.

"Alrighty, I guess I'm next then," Kate announces as she gets up from her seat.

"Go Kate!" Waverly cheers enthusiastically, trying to get things back on track. As she and Nicole reclaim their seats, Kate takes the stage and waits for the music to start playing.

 _ **Can't we just talk?  
Can't we just talk?  
Talk about where we're going?**_

As Waverly and Nicole enjoy Kate's beautiful voice, they look on at the rest of their friends that have paired off. While Chrissy, Rosita, and Wynonna seem to be having an animated conversation at the opposite end of the table, Jeremy and Robin appear to be having a more tamed exchanging of words.

"Besides that surprising performance, it looks like everyone is enjoying themselves so far," Waverly states as she snuggles further into Nicole.

"Yeah, I'd say so," Nicole agrees, gladly welcoming the closeness as she kisses the top of her girlfriend's head. "By the way, Kate's voice is amazing!"

"I told you!" Waverly says knowingly. "If she wasn't a pilot, I could totally see her as a musician."

 _ **Before we get lost  
Lend me your thoughts  
Can't get what we want without knowin'**_

"Robin and Jeremy look pretty cozy," Nicole observes.

"They do. Maybe sparks are flying," Waverly says excitedly.

"Maybe… I know they certainly did when we first met," Nicole bashfully states.

 _ **I've never felt like this before  
I apologize if I'm movin' too far  
**_

"Yeah… they certainly did," Waverly instantly replies as she tilts her head up to capture Nicole's lips in an innocent kiss.

"Boo! Get a room," Wynonna chides, throwing a crumpled napkin at the happy couple.

Waverly giggles to herself before responding, "I can't take her anywhere."

This causes Nicole to laugh too.

 _ **Can't we just talk?  
Can't we just talk?  
Figure out where we're goin', yeah**_

"They're a cute couple," Robin comments, observing the two women sitting across from him. "It's nice to see Waverly happy; like _actually_ happy."

"Yeah, I've heard some stories about her ex. Sounds like a real douchebag," Jeremy mentions. "But, I'm actually more interested in learning more about you."

"Oh, right… we were about to divulge that information before _Cardi B_ hit the stage," Robin jokes, causing Jeremy to smile. "Let's see… as you know, Waverly and I went to high school together. Um, I'm a park ranger, even though I don't know shit about the woods..."

"Wait, if you don't know anything about the woods then why did you take the job?" Jeremy inquires.

"Because there's not really any jobs out here for Jazz History majors," Robin replies with a shrug of his shoulders. "It was the quickest job I could find on such short notice. My dad is sick so I moved back here to help take care of him."

"Oh, wow… I'm sorry to hear that," Jeremy says sympathetically as he subconsciously places his hand on top of Robin's.

"It's okay. It's kinda been a long time coming," Robin begins to explain. "My dad's been smoking like a chimney since he was a teenager. It's sad, but I think the lung cancer was inevitable."

"I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through. Hell, I don't even know if my biological parents are still alive," Jeremy reveals.

"You're adopted?"

"No, but I did grow up in foster care," Jeremy admits. "Once you reach a certain age and you've been in the system for so long, your hopes of a family adopting you go out the window pretty fast."

"That's terrible, Jeremy. I'm sorry that happened to you," Robin sincerely states as squeezes Jeremy's hand. "Did you ever try to find your biological parents?"

"Honestly, no. I figured they had their reasons for not wanting to keep me. Plus, it's not like they ever tried to find me," Jeremy clarifies. "I was angry for a long time. I didn't have any friends… well, not _real_ friends, until I met Nicole… and the artist formerly known as Rosita."

This causes both men to break away from the seriousness of their conversation and share a laugh.

At this point in his life, Jeremy was used to being on his own. After meeting Nicole and Rosita and getting to know them, Jeremy finally understood the meaning behind having a 'chosen' family. Waverly and the rest of her gang were quickly becoming a part of that family as well.

But… maybe there was room for one more member; a more _romantic_ addition?

"Say, what is it about you that makes people wanna open up?" Jeremy implores.

"I don't know. I can't say that I've ever had that effect on someone before," Robin says, still chuckling a bit. After his laughter dies down, he gets a little more serious. "I like you, Jeremy."

"I like you too," Jeremy responds, echoing the same sentiment.

"Maybe we could hang out sometime, without all of these prying eyes on us?" Robin comments, sensing that Waverly and Nicole were watching them closely.

As Jeremy subtly looks over at his bestie, Nicole and Waverly quickly – _but not gracefully_ – look away, acting like they weren't just eavesdropping on their conversation. Shaking his head at the couple, Jeremy adverts his attention back to Robin.

"I would like that."

As Jeremy and Robin continue to make small talk, Wynonna surprisingly gets on stage and starts belting out the lyrics to " _Don't Stop Believin'_ ".

"How many drinks has Wynonna had?" Chrissy says, asking the obvious question.

"Apparently enough to get her to agree to do a song," Waverly replies humorously.

"Oh, I'm definitely recording this," Kate exclaims, pulling out her phone. "This is like blackmail gold."

"I'm already on it," Rosita states, showing everyone that she was already indeed recording the drunken Earp on stage.

The night was definitely getting more interesting by the minute. By the time Wynonna finished her set and stumbled her way back to the table, the rest of the group had finally settled down.

"That was pretty epic, Nonna. Didn't think you had it in you," Waverly praises her sister.

"Me either. I guess liquid courage goes a long way," Wynonna replies, practically downing her beer in one go. "Who's next?"

"I guess that would be us," Nicole says as she stands up, looking at Jeremy.

"We got this!" Jeremy says eagerly.

"Good luck, baby!" Waverly cheers as she gives Nicole a quick peck on the lips.

Feeling extra encouraged now, Nicole takes a deep breath as she and Jeremy share a look to let each other know that they were on the same page.

 _ **We go together  
Better than birds of a feather, you and me  
We change the weather, yeah…  
I'm feeling heat in December when you're 'round me  
**_

As Nicole channels her inner Nick Jonas, she winks at Waverly after singing the last line in the first verse, making the brunette blush.

 _ **I've been dancing on top of cars  
And stumbling out of bars  
I follow you through the dark  
Can't get enough**_

Once Jeremy picks up, he really gets into his part, literally stumbling around on stage. The crowd seems to be really enjoying it.

 _ **You're the medicine and the pain  
The tattoo inside my brain  
And baby, you know it's obvious  
**_

As Nicole and Jeremy harmonize, it's clear that the two had practiced their performance previously. This just entertains Waverly and their group even more.

 _ **I'm a sucker for you  
Say the word and I'll go anywhere blindly  
I'm a sucker for you, yeah  
Any road you take you know that you'll find me**_

 _ **I'm a sucker for all the subliminal things  
No one knows about you (About you)  
About you (About you)  
And you're making the typical me  
Break my typical rules**_

While Nicole sings the chorus, she only has eyes for Waverly. It's crystal clear to everyone in the room whom the redhead is talking about.

 _ **It's true, I'm a sucker for you**_

After Nicole and Jeremy receive a roaring round of applause from all of the patrons in the bar, the two friends humbly make their way back to their table.

"You guys totally killed it!" Rosita exclaims, welcoming her buddies with a hearty group hug.

"Thanks, Rosie!" Jeremy and Nicole reply in unison.

"That was really cute," Robin adds in, specifically looking at Jeremy.

"Uh, thanks," Jeremy says bashfully, caught off-guard by the compliment.

"You were so sexy up there, baby…" Waverly gushes as she plants a big kiss on her girlfriend's lips.

"Thank you, Waves," Nicole responds, stealing another kiss from the brunette. "I really am a sucker for you."

"Barf!" Wynonna so articulately speaks out, making a gagging noise for dramatic effect.

All Waverly can do is shake her head while she buries her face into Nicole's chest. Even though Nicole feels for her girlfriend being slightly embarrassed by her older sister, the redhead loves the relationship between the two. Nicole recognizes the unmistakable bond between the Earp sisters and is so grateful that Waverly has such a huge support system.

" _Next to the stage is… Waverly_ ," the DJ announces.

Hearing her name, Waverly leans back from Nicole's warm embrace and begins to mentally prepare herself for her solo performance.

"You got this, baby."

With an encouraging smile from her girlfriend, Waverly kisses Nicole on the cheek before waving at the rest of her friends and making her way to the stage.

Waverly was nervous to perform her song. She hadn't told anyone what she had planned on singing beforehand, in fear that she would talk herself out of it. Her song selection was very meaningful and would definitely leave her in a state of exposure in front of her friends, family, and complete strangers.

But… she felt _compelled_ to do it.

Nicole made Waverly feel strong, beautiful, and most importantly… _brave_. Brave enough to sing again. Brave enough to stand up for herself. Brave enough to be vulnerable in front of others.

Although the spotlight currently on her was very daunting, Waverly knew that she could handle it. The way that Nicole looked at her gave the brunette all the strength she needed to block out the crowd and just focus on her girlfriend and the words of the song.

 _ **This ain't for the best  
My reputation's never been worse, so  
You must like me for me...**_

"Oh wow… I can't believe she's doing _this_ song," Chrissy says in disbelief. "I mean, it's one thing to sing a fun, upbeat song but to actually stand up there and sing a ballad…"

 _ **We can't make  
Any promises now, can we, babe?  
But you can make me a drink...**_

"I hear ya," Rosita agrees. "She's got guts."

 _ **Dive bar on the east side, where you at?  
Phone lights up my nightstand in the black  
Come here, you can meet me in the back**_

"I would be scared shitless," Robin adds in.

 _ **Dark jeans and your Nikes, look at you  
Oh damn, never seen that color blue  
Just think of the fun things we could do**_

"She's probably feeling a mass of emotions, but evidently getting this message across was more than enough to quell whatever fears she may have," Kate perceptively states.

 _ **'Cause I like you…**_

"Well… I'd say that message has been well-received," Jeremy says, joining in on the conversation. "These two haven't taken their eyes off of each other."

 _ **Yeah, I want you…**_

"And what message is that?" Robin inquires.

 _ **Is it cool that I said all that?  
Is it chill that you're in my head?  
'Cause I know that it's delicate (delicate)**_

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Wynonna finally pipes up, taking a break from watching the interaction between her baby sister and Nicole.

 _ **Is it cool that I said all that?  
Is it too soon to do this yet?  
'Cause I know that it's delicate**_

"They're two dopes in love," Wynonna so eloquently finishes her thought.

 _ **Isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it?  
Isn't it?  
**_

The entire time that her group of friends are talking and dissecting the possible meaning behind Waverly's song selection, Nicole doesn't hear a thing. All she can see is Waverly's dazzling hazel eyes staring back at her while her ears are captivated by the brunette's magical voice.

 _ **Isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it?  
Isn't it?**_

"Do you think _they_ know?" Chrissy questions, looking at everyone at the table.

As Wynonna glances back at her sister and sees that she still hasn't taken her eyes off of the redhead since stepping onto the stage, the answer became pretty clear.

"I think so, but they're probably too scared to disclose that info to each other right now," Wynonna replies.

 _ **Delicate…**_

* * *

As the night was coming to an end, Nicole and Waverly took on the responsibility of being the designated drivers. While Jeremy and Rosita shared an Uber back to her place to crash, the rest of the gang split up between Nicole's Grand Cherokee and Dolls' borrowed Suburban (driven by Waverly) to make their way towards the redhead's apartment. Once there, the remaining members of the group claimed their own sleeping quarters for the rest of the night: Kate and Chrissy in the spare bedroom, Wynonna and Robin on the couches in the living room, and Waverly taking refuge in Nicole's bedroom.

"You were absolutely amazing tonight," Nicole genuinely states, continuing to praise her girlfriend on her solo performance. "I'm just in complete awe of you."

Waverly smiles at the compliment before leaning closer to the redhead and capturing her lips in a delicate kiss.

"I'm glad you liked it. I was really scared to even do it," Waverly admits.

"Why?"

"I just felt really self-conscious, putting myself out there like that," Waverly confides. "But then, I just looked at you and nothing else seemed to matter."

" _Waves_ …"

Nicole is taken aback by the brunette's honesty. It takes every ounce of her energy to bite her tongue and not reveal the thoughts that have been weighing heavily on her mind as of late.

"What is it, baby?" Waverly ponders as she lightly caresses Nicole's face.

"I just…" Nicole pauses, trying to contain her emotions. "I care about you… _so_ much."

"I care about you too, Cole."

Nicole and Waverly's lips immediately find each other in the dimly lit room as the brunette rolls on top of her girlfriend. Their kisses quickly become more passionate as their breathing gets a bit more labored. As Nicole's hands roam up and down Waverly's back and sides, the brunette wants more; the earlier conversation from the ride down still looming in the back of her mind.

As Waverly raises up so that she's now straddling her girlfriend's waist, she slowly lifts up her shirt and tosses it aside, revealing her toned physique. Mesmerized by the sight of the brunette, Nicole rakes her fingers up and down Waverly's stomach, causing her abdominal muscles to twitch with every touch.

The couple had fooled around like this before, but there was something about the look in Waverly's eyes tonight that screamed she was ready for more.

Carefully, Nicole sits up and connects her lips with Waverly while flipping their positions. With the redhead now on top, Nicole begins to pepper kisses down the nape of Waverly's neck and continues her path until she pauses between her breasts. Lightly biting the top of the brunette's right breast, Nicole slips her hand under the cup of her left breast and begins to massage it enthusiastically. This causes Waverly to grunt out in pleasure as her hands find purchase on the redhead's ass.

"Is this okay, baby?" Nicole questions as scrapes her teeth against Waverly's earlobe.

Even though they both seemed to be enjoying what was currently happening between them, Nicole always wanted to make sure that Waverly was comfortable and that they were on the same page. She didn't want her girlfriend to ever feel like she couldn't say 'no' or 'stop' if things began to escalate too quickly. Waverly loved how considerate and attentive Nicole was with her, but sometimes she just wanted the redhead to let loose and perhaps lose control a little bit.

"More than okay," Waverly utters out in between short, choppy breaths as she grabs the bottom of Nicole's shirt and helps her remove it.

Just as Waverly's eagerly slips her hands underneath Nicole's sports bra, there's a loud thud against the door that causes both women to jump.

" _Hurry up… I gotta pee_ ," Wynonna's muffled, slurred words say on the other side of the door.

"I should've known," Waverly says with a bit of annoyance in her tone as Nicole rolls off of her. "Nonna! The bathroom is at the end of the hallway."

" _But I wanna use the one in there_ ," Wynonna tries to reason.

Nicole can't help but to laugh as she sits up to put her shirt back on.

"No, wait… what are you doing?" Waverly whines as she sees her girlfriend is no longer topless. "She'll go away. Take your shirt back off."

Again, Nicole chuckles to herself as she hands Waverly her t-shirt to put back on.

"You are so adorable right now, but I think we both know that our fooling around is done for the night," Nicole softly says, breaking the news to her girlfriend as she kisses her forehead. "Besides, it's not like we were gonna go much further, especially with everyone staying here."

Waverly knew that Nicole was right, but that still didn't stop her from begrudgingly putting her sleep shirt back on, getting up from the bed, and dragging her feet to the door to unlock. As she mumbled ' _such a twat block_ ' underneath her breath, Waverly is surprised to see Wynonna fall into the bedroom and onto the carpeted floor as soon as she opened the door.

As Waverly helps her drunken sister up, Wynonna immediately hops onto the bed, making Nicole bounce a little.

"Sup, Red?" Wynonna says as she takes a look around the room. "Pretty nice digs you got here."

"Uh, thanks?"

"Don't encourage her," Waverly warns, clearly not impressed by her sister's antics.

"This bed is pretty bouncy," Wynonna comments. "How many times have you defiled my sister on it?"

" _Wynonna!_ " Waverly exclaims as she slaps her sister's arm.

" _Oww!_ What the fuck was that for?" Wynonna questions as she rubs her arm that's stinging like a mofo. "I was just kidding."

 _Waverly was right… she totally is a twat block_ , Nicole thinks to herself, having heard her girlfriend's earlier comment.

"So, what are you guys up to?" Wynonna ponders. "Everyone else is asleep."

"Well, we _were_ relaxing and enjoying each other's company until _somebody_ interrupted us," Waverly replies; her voice laced with irritation.

"That sucks," Wynonna replies as her clueless, drunken mind was unable to put the puzzle pieces together. "Anyways, I'm beat. Mind if I crash in here?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Wynonna's body was laid out on the edge of the bed; her light snoring the only noise in the room now.

"Well, I guess she's sleeping in here then," Nicole states, trying to make light of the situation. "You okay?"

"Yeah… just a little hot and bothered, but what's new?" Waverly spits out before she has a chance to think about her word selection.

"I can go sleep on the couch," Nicole solemnly states, feeling bad that their moment was ruined and now her girlfriend is feeling _unsatisfied_.

Just as Nicole is getting up from the bed and heading towards the door, Waverly grabs her hand as she realizes what she had just said.

"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean it like that," Waverly apologizes, clearly frustrated at the situation, but not meaning to take it out on the redhead. "We can still cuddle."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course."

As the couple lay down on the other side of the bed where Wynonna's sprawled out body was not currently occupying, Nicole just stares at Waverly, wondering what was running through the brunette's head at the moment.

"I'm sorry if we got a little carried away," Nicole says, still feeling responsible for part of her girlfriend's frustration.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Cole. We were both having fun and exploring things," Waverly assures. "Who knows where that would've led to… but, I think it's probably for the best that Hurricane Wynonna came storming in."

Just as Nicole was about to reply, Calamity Jane comes barreling into the room.

"Hey, CJ!" Waverly coos as the feline jumps onto the bed and wiggles her way in between Nicole and Waverly.

" _My two favorite girls_ ," Nicole whispers out as she pets CJ behind her ears.

Hearing the sentiment, Waverly kisses Nicole deeply before moving CJ so that she was now in between her and Wynonna. Waverly then turns around and molds the back of her body into Nicole's front. Nicole instantly wraps her arm around her girlfriend's waist and places a delicate kiss to the back of her neck.

"Goodnight, Waves."

"Goodnight, baby…" Waverly replies as she rests her arm on top of the one Nicole had draped across her midsection. She then tangles their fingers together before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

 _ **2 weeks later...**_

"How is it that I've lived in Benson all of my life, yet I've never heard of the Lantern Festival?" Waverly curiously ponders as she and Nicole walk hand-in-hand through the crowd. "I mean, I've _heard_ of the festival before through my studies of ancient cultures and civilizations, but I'm _pretty_ _sure_ the Lantern Festival is supposed to be during February or early March to mark the end of the Chinese New Year."

Waverly suddenly comes to a stop once she realizes that Nicole is no longer moving in sync with her. As she looks back at her girlfriend, she notices a wistful look on her face.

"What? Was I rambling again?" Waverly hesitantly questions.

"No, not at all. I love it when you talk nerdy to me," Nicole seductively says as she wraps her arms snuggly around Waverly's waist. "It's one of the things I adore most about you."

Swooning pretty hard after a comment like that, Waverly can't help but to stand on her tippy toes and place a chaste kiss to Nicole's awaiting lips.

"You spoil me, _Officer_ Haught," Waverly playfully states after stealing another kiss from her girlfriend, causing Nicole's infamous dimple to appear.

"To answer your question though..." Nicole begins to say as they continue walking towards the staging area where they would light and then release their lanterns, "this is only the second year that they've held the Lantern Festival in Benson."

"Oh... well, that makes sense then."

"As far as to why it's being held now in September as opposed to in February..." the redhead continues on, "I'm guessing because it wouldn't be much fun if we were all out here, freezing our asses off in 30 below weather."

"Hmm... you do make a good point," Waverly praises before making another inquiry. "So, I'm guessing you've been planning this for awhile then, huh?"

"What makes you say that?" Nicole counters back, playing along.

"Because I can't remember the last time I had a Saturday off, with the exception of Perry's wedding," Waverly clarifies. "And I know at your job, you have to find someone willing to cover your shift, fill out the paperwork, and _then_ wait for the approval before you can _officially_ say you have that day off. Like, seriously... why does your job have to be so complicated?"

Nicole chuckles to herself. "I ask myself that question a lot."

"So really, how did you manage to pull this off? You must've had to do some serious negotiations to find someone to work a weekend day for you, especially that early in the morning."

"Believe it or not, it actually wasn't that difficult," Nicole begins to explain. "I just put the word out there to a few of my co-workers and they passed it along. Thankfully, I found a part-timer that was looking to make some extra money."

"Well, that was super clutch."

"For sure," Nicole agrees. "Your Aunt Gus took a _little_ more convincing though."

"Oh yeah?" Waverly implores as her curiosity piques.

"Yup. Let's just say that when I come back up here next week to visit, I'll be outside working on her farm while you both are at _**Shorty's**_ in the air conditioning," Nicole pouts.

"Aww... my poor baby," Waverly soothingly states as she pecks her girlfriend's lips. "I'll be sure to think about you in your overalls and sexy cowgirl boots."

"You're enjoying this a little too much," Nicole comments as she raises an eyebrow. "Nevertheless, I'll gladly endure that suffering because it allowed us to be here tonight."

"Such a sweetie pie," Waverly croons as she snuggles a little closer to the redhead. "Thank you for inviting me."

"There's no one else I'd rather be here with," Nicole sincerely says.

Waverly is utterly smitten and so overcome by all sorts of feels that it's practically maddening. Before she is able to relay the same sentiment to her girlfriend, the moment is interrupted by someone other than Wynonna.

" _Alrighty folks! It's finally time to release your hopes and dreams up into the air,_ " the MC of the event announces. " _Whether you are setting a goal, marking a milestone, or celebrating a life well-lived by someone who is now shining down on us from Heaven, hold your lanterns in the air and let the universe know_."

"You ready?" Nicole asks her girlfriend as she holds her lantern up.

"Yeah," Waverly simply replies as she raises hers up as well.

" _In 3... 2... 1... Light up the sky_!"

As everyone releases their lanterns into the air, Waverly leans back into Nicole's warm embrace. As the redhead places a delicate kiss to the crown of her girlfriend's head, Waverly exhales and finds herself completely at peace in the arms of this amazing woman.

"Nicole?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"What was written on your lantern?" Waverly questions.

The brunette found it so sweet and endearing that Nicole had thought about her family members that had passed away when the idea of attending this festival had come up. Writing down the names of Mama, Willa, Uncle Curtis (and even Pikachu) on the lantern had been very emotional, but also so gratifying and freeing. However, the thought did not escape Waverly that her girlfriend had been very secretive about what she had written on the lantern that she had released into the sky.

"You really wanna know?"

"Of course."

"Okay then... I drew a heart with 'Waverly + Nicole' written inside," Nicole bashfully admits.

Waverly slowly turns around so that she is facing her girlfriend. "Really?"

"Yeah... I see a very long, bright future for us so I just wanted to put that out into the universe," Nicole genuinely states.

"Wow... I don't know what to say," Waverly replies, taken aback by this new information.

"That might actually make this next part easier," Nicole nervously says as she takes Waverly's hands into hers. "Waves... these past few months have been the most amazing moments of my life... and that's all because of you."

Waverly's jaw drops open in surprise upon hearing this revelation. She wished that she had the perfect thing to reply back with after being enlightened by such wonderful things, but she's still having a little trouble finding her words.

"I never knew that I could feel so deeply about someone or that there was a greater spectrum of happiness that I had yet to reach because I hadn't met you yet," Nicole carries on; the vulnerability shining in her timbre. "I know this might seem fast, but I've felt it since the first time we held hands. And this feeling has only grown stronger each day since then."

Nicole pauses as she intakes a deep breath of air and slowly lets it out.

"What I'm trying to say is... I love you, Waverly."

Nicole knew that she was taking a risk, being the first one to drop the 'L' word, but it had gotten to a point where she thought she would combust if she didn't tell the brunette soon. Nicole had been harboring these feelings for so long, constantly catching herself from prematurely saying those three powerful words to Waverly. It had been a long time coming and with so much to celebrate on a night like this, the redhead was finally ready to stop holding back and tell Waverly the truth.

"I'm not expecting you to say it back," Nicole says after a beat while Waverly remained silent. "I just thought that you should know."

Waverly was stunned beyond belief. What she thought would just be another fun date with her best baby had turned into a life-changing moment for the couple.

Not wanting to waste another second, Waverly untangles her hands from Nicole's so that she can grab her girlfriend's face and pull her into a scorching, passionate kiss. Nicole immediately reciprocates.

Nicole's beautiful, honest words had rendered Waverly speechless to the point where the English language was currently failing her. The brunette had so many feelings and emotions that she wanted to convey to Nicole, but her brain and her body were not working as a well-oiled machine at the moment.

So instead, Waverly did the only thing she could think of. She kissed Nicole, long and hard, until her words finally caught up to her.

"I love you too, Nicole..." Waverly breathlessly says as their lips break a part. "I'm so freakin' in love with you."

Nicole giggles at her girlfriend's use of words, releasing a breath that she didn't know she had been holding.

"Did you really think I wasn't gonna say it back?" Waverly teasingly, but sincerely asks.

"I was hoping you would, but I didn't want to put any pressure on you. I just couldn't hold it in any longer," Nicole clarifies as she lightly caresses Waverly's cheek. "I could live with it, if you weren't at that place yet. But... I would feel horrible if you said it and didn't mean it or felt like you had to say it back to save face or something."

"Hey... I meant it," Waverly reassures as she stares deeply into Nicole's chocolate eyes. "You mean the absolute world to me."

Consumed with emotion, Nicole leans down and captures Waverly's lips as a single tear of joy falls down her cheek. The couple exchange soft, meaningful kisses for the next few seconds until the brunette abruptly disconnects their lips.

"Take me home."

"Uh, sure... okay," Nicole readily agrees, although somewhat confused by the sudden request. "Is everything okay? I thought you were having fun?"

"Everything has been perfect, baby. But... I really need you to take me home," Waverly repeats as her hazel eyes turn a darker shade of green and more predatory. As she steps even closer into Nicole's personal space, she whispers into her ear. "I _need_ you, Nicole. I'm done waiting."

As the lightbulb goes off inside of Nicole's head, her eyes light up in recognition.

" _Oh_... you mean..." Nicole starts to say, but can't seem to string together a full sentence as her brain catches up to the implications of Waverly's words.

"Yeah... I'm ready, Nicole," Waverly clarifies. "Are you?"

"I'm _so_ ready, baby," Nicole truthfully replies as she looks lovingly into her girlfriend's eyes. "Let's get outta here."

Sealing one last kiss onto her girlfriend's lips, Waverly takes Nicole's outstretched hand and the couple race towards the parking lot with wide smiles on both of their faces.

* * *

The drive back to the Homestead was filled with shy glances and quiet anticipation. While Waverly did her best not to freak out and overthink things, Nicole was focused on making sure they arrived at their destination safely. Once they pulled into the driveway, Nicole shut off the engine and quickly exited the Jeep so that she could open Waverly's door.

"Such a gentlewoman," the brunette coos, causing her girlfriend to show that dimpled smile of hers.

As they enter the silent, dimly-lit house, Nicole notices the absence of Waverly's roommate.

"Where's Chrissy?" Nicole inquires as they step into Waverly's room.

"She's out for the night," Waverly replies as she closes the door and locks it behind her.

"So… it's just you and me then," Nicole slowly states as the reality of the situation sets in.

" _Yeah_ …" Waverly answers back as she lightly wraps her arms around the redhead's shoulders. "Is that okay?"

Hearing the nervousness in her voice, Nicole immediately wraps her arms around Waverly's waist. "Of course, baby."

As the couple stands there in the middle of Waverly's bedroom with their foreheads resting against each other, the only thing that can be heard is the sound of their synchronized breathing.

"What are you thinking about?' Waverly implores, breaking the steady silence that had befallen upon them.

"About how much I love you," Nicole sweetly replies as she slightly leans back to kiss the tip of her girlfriend's nose. "And about how amazingly sexy you look in my shirt right now."

Looking down for herself, Waverly remembers her choice of attire for that evening. She was wearing Nicole's blue and green plaid, button-down shirt; the same shirt the redhead had been wearing when she had that unfortunate encounter with Waverly's ex.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Waverly bashfully replies. "I found it in my drawer earlier when I was putting my laundry away."

As Waverly looks deep into Nicole's eyes, she could practically feel the love radiating off of the redhead.

Sensually, Waverly bites her lower lip, feeling her libido spike from just being in the presence of this magnificent woman that she got to call hers. "Do you want it back?" She whispers out.

Giving Waverly a quick once over, Nicole licks her lips and smugly says, "No… it looks _way_ better on you."

Hearing Nicole's response in that sexy Southern accent does something to the brunette. It makes her body tingle in ways that she's never felt before. And now that "I love you's" were exchanged and they were both alone in her empty house, Waverly felt like there was nothing holding either of them back from taking the next step in their relationship.

Putting her feelings into action, Waverly connects her lips with Nicole's, enjoying the softness and tenderness that had become synonymous with the redhead. They stay like this for a couple of minutes, exchanging sensual kisses while their hands stayed relatively still.

That is until Waverly starts to unbutton Nicole's shirt, exposing her maroon bra.

Following her lead, Nicole pushes Waverly's shirt off of her shoulders until it falls to the ground, leaving the brunette in a cream-colored spaghetti strap tank top. As Waverly's hands find themselves on Nicole's belt, she quickly undoes the buckle and rips the belt out from the loops of Nicole's jeans at a lightning pace.

"Waverly, wait…" Nicole says as she halts her girlfriend's hands that were about to unbutton the top of her jeans. "Are you sure?"

 _ **Every night, every day; how about every lifetime?  
Yeah, I know what they say, and that's fine**_

Again, Waverly loved how considerate and thoughtful Nicole was with her feelings and how the redhead always made sure that she felt comfortable; however, it was unnecessary tonight.

Waverly wanted Nicole _badly_ ; she knew the redhead felt the same way too.

 _ **'Cause I'm here to stay through the good and the bad times  
Babe, you send me to space and you're mine, yeah**_

"Nicole… I've never been more sure of anything in my life," Waverly says with conviction as she laces her fingers with her girlfriend's. "You're the best thing that's happened to me in a very long time."

 _ **Call me crazy  
And people saying that we move too fast**_

"I just wanna make you happy, Waves…" Nicole stutters out as she feels Waverly's delicate fingers tracing patterns up and down her chest and abdomen.

 _ **But I've been waiting, and for a reason  
Ain't no turning back**_

"I'd say you already do a pretty damn good job at that," Waverly husks out as she successfully pops open the button on Nicole's jeans, causing the redhead's stomach to jump with excitement.

 _ **'Cause you show me something I can't live without  
I believe, I believe, I believe**_

"You know what would make me even happier though?" Waverly prompts as she guides Nicole's hands towards the bottom of her tank top.

Taking the hint, Nicole smoothly lifts the tank top over Waverly's head and tosses it aside, leaving the brunette standing there in just her cute decorative bra and short-shorts. "What, baby?"

 _ **When you hold me, it's like Heaven coming down**_

 _ **I believe, I believe, I believe**_

"You and me, _naked_ on my bed…" Waverly begins to reply, accentuating each word with a lingering kiss to Nicole's clavicle. "Making love to each other… _All. Night. Long_."

Nicole's heart was already pounding from the soft kisses that Waverly was placing around her neck. But now, hearing the extravagant words coming out of the tiny brunette's mouth just about made Nicole pass out from how turned on Waverly made her.

 _ **That you show me (Show me, show me)**_

"Jesus, Waves!" Nicole exclaims as she swiftly picks her girlfriend up and carries her over to the bed. Carefully laying her down in the center of the queen-sized bed, Nicole takes a moment and just gazes at the beautiful woman looking back at her. "I'm the luckiest woman in the world."

"Not luckier than me," Waverly immediately says back as she loops her arms around the redhead's neck. "I love you, Nicole."

 _ **That you show me (Show me, show me)**_

With a dimpled smile plastered on her face, Nicole leans down and kisses Waverly with so much soul, letting every ounce of her love and passion for the younger woman seep out. When they break apart over a minute later, the look on Waverly's face is pure perfection.

"I love you, Waves."

"Oh yeah?" Waverly replies with a mischievous look in her eyes as she slides Nicole's open, unbuttoned shirt off of her shoulders. "Show me."

After Nicole assists Waverly in removing the offending article of clothing, she gently lowers her body onto Waverly's, getting that electric feel as their semi-covered breasts smash together.

"Yes, ma'am."

As those words leave Nicole's mouth, their lips instantly find each other. Little by little, the rest of their clothing is removed and tossed aside as the two young women spend the rest of the night exploring each other and this new aspect of their relationship.

 _ **I believe, I believe, I believe…**_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

First off, let me start by saying how happy I am that we are definitely getting a Season 4! It's been a long, tough fight, but of course us _Earpers_ never quit. This chapter has been a work in progress, but I'm happy to say that it's finally done. I hope you all enjoy the overload of WayHaught cuteness, classic interruptions by Wynonna, and a little hint of Jeremy and Robin thrown in with the rest of the gang. Thank you to everyone still out there reading my stories; I really do appreciate it.

 _ **#Win4Wynonna**_

 **Songs Used:**

 _ **Shake it Off**_ by **Taylor Swift**

 _ **Starving**_ by **Hailee Steinfeld and Grey ft. Zedd**

 _ **All About That Bass**_ by **Meghan Trainor** (honorable mention)

 _ **Push It**_ by **Salt-N-Pepa** (honorable mention)

 _ **Never Gonna Give You Up**_ by **Rick** **Astley** (honorable mention)

 _ **Bodak**_ _ **Yellow**_ by **Cardi** **B**

 _ **Talk**_ by **Khalid**

 _ **Don't Stop Believin**_ **'** by **Journey** (honorable mention)

 _ **Sucker**_ by **Jonas** **Brothers**

 _ **Delicate**_ by **Taylor** **Swift**

 _ **I**_ _ **Believe**_ by **Jonas** **Brothers**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own _**SyFy**_ , _**Space**_ , _**Wynonna**_ _**Earp**_ , or any of the characters used in this story. Emily Andras is a genius. Enough said.


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